Endings are Only Beginnings
by MiaAmerne
Summary: A year after the story ends, a new one will be born. Will the characters be able to save this one from tragedy as well? T just in case for violence.
1. A new beginning

I do not own princess tutu or any of its characters.

Hi! This would be my first story on fanfiction, EVER, so bear with me. However, this is my second Princess Tutu fanfic so, also, bear with me. ^_^; Uh, I am a huge Princess Tutu fan and Ahiru/Fakir shipper, so...just letting you know. ^_^;

Well, here goes.

* * *

"Quack." A little yellow duck sat up sheepishly and turned her head around and around. However, all she could see for miles on end, was darkness. She frowned and got up on her feet with a slightly uneasy feeling in her stomach. "Qua..." _Where am I?_

The little yellow duck stepped forward hesitantly, but as soon as her foot met the ground, the darkness disappeared and was replaced by a setting. She now found herself among tall grass in an area covered by a strange mist. "Ahiru..."

"Quack?" Ahiru, the duck, whirled around to find the source of the voice who had called out to her. Behind her, she found a misty lake and on that lake, was a shadowy figure dancing gracefully on its surface. _That voice...could it be?_

"Ahiru." Ahiru walked towards the lake and then swam out towards the figure. As she got closer, the shadowy figure became clearer and Ahiru began to swim faster she realized who the dancing figure was. It was a woman clad in a white tutu and pink toe shoes. Upon her short pink hair was a little gold crown. This woman was someone that Ahiru knew all too well. However, the only thing that was missing was an elaborate pendant around her neck that held a resemblance to a swan.

"Quack quack!" _It really is Princess Tutu!_ The woman smiled gently at the little duck and ceased her dancing, coming down from en pointe. "Hello, Ahiru." Ahiru smiled the same gentle smile back at her. _Princess Tutu._.. Suddenly, Princess Tutu lifted her hands above her head and performed an action that Ahiru knew all too well. Rolling her hands above her head and extending one hand out towards Ahiru, she asked, "Ahiru, will you dance with me?"

Ahiru was taken aback by the sudden invitation but nodded and began dancing, with Princess Tutu leading her along. "It has been a while, hasn't it, Ahiru?"

_Yup, a year already. _Ahiru became wistful and added. _Everything is the way it should be. Everyone's happy now. _Princess Tutu frowned slightly. "No, that is not quite right. Not everyone is exactly happy." Suddenly, the entire surface of the lake showed the image of Fakir sitting on the dock by the lake and Ahiru, floating on the gentle waves. Both seemed content, but not quite happy.

"You, of all people should know this, Ahiru. After all, you are one of them." Ahiru stopped dancing and simply stared down at the images on the lake. Princess Tutu had stopped now as well. _I know. I know that I wasn't really happy, just being a duck. But having Fakir around helped me bear with it._ Ahiru shook her head. _But..._Ahiru looked up at Princess Tutu. _Are you saying that Fakir isn't happy either? But why?_

Princess Tutu smiled down at Ahiru and the images vanished. "Inside, you know why." Then, she bent down and scooped Ahiru up in her hands. "But, you know Ahiru, I too, am not happy." Ahiru seemed shocked and tilted her head to the side in confusion. _What? But why?_

"I am not happy because the story should not have ended this way. In the end, both you and I, chose to return the last heart shard to the Prince. However, that was a sacrifice that only I was meant to make."

"Qua?" Ahiru seemed to be getting more and more confused. It was really quite clear, but Ahiru just didn't seem to get what it was that she was saying. Princess Tutu chuckled softly. "What it is that I'm saying, is that I will help to give you your happy ending."

"Quack!?" _What!?_ Ahiru shook her head frantically. _No! I can't let you do that! What about your happy ending Princess Tutu_? _You never got yours._

"You're forgetting, Ahiru. I've lived with this fate once before. It's my destiny to vanish into a speck of light. By doing this for you, my fate will be better than that which was planned for me. This way, a piece of me can live on with you, and I will not be truly forgotten."

Ahiru felt tears coming to her eyes. _Princess Tutu, even if you didn't do this for me, you would never truly be forgotten. _With one last smile, Princess Tutu lifted Ahiru higher and planted a light kiss atop her head and everything was engulfed in a flash of light. All that could be heard were Princess Tutu's last words. "But beware, Ahiru. Every happy ending has its challenges. But don't be afraid. I will brave those challenges alongside you..."

* * *

"Aaaaah!!!!"

Ahiru awoke the next morning to a loud comotion. Since there was no one else living in the house except for Fakir and Charon, it was very unusual to hear so much noise unless it was caused by Ahiru. So, just in case it was something urgent, Ahiru sheepishly opened her eyes and looked over beside her where Fakir should have been. However, instead of lying on the bed beside her, he was standing up against the wall, his back facing her.

"Ahiru, what happened? H-how-?" Although his back was to her, Ahiru could see the redness from his face spreading as far as his ears. However, Ahiru was still confused and decided to get up and peck at his feet to get his attention but for some reason, her body felt heavier than normal. She placed her wings down on the bed to push herself up but she found that in place of her feathery tips, were human fingertips.

"Qua-!" Instinctively, Ahiru moved her hands over her mouth to stifle her voice. Slowly, she sat up rather shakily and stretched her hands out in front of her. She scrutinized her all too familiar body and found that it was just as she had remembered. However, she also realized why Fakir was still standing facing the wall. A blush rapidly spread across her entire body and she quickly wrapped Fakir's blankets around her. "Um, you can look now."

Slowly, Fakir turned around and looked Ahiru up and down. Granted, he could only really see from her neck up. Fakir stared at her thoughtfully. "Ahiru...you're a girl. How-?"

"I don't really know..." But then suddenly, something felt cool and smooth against her chest. Ahiru looked down and brought her hand to her chest underneath the blanket. Hanging from a chain around her neck was a pendant that was almost identical to her old one but instead of a deep blood red stone, it was a soft pink. "That's right...Princess Tutu...thank you." Ahiru gripped the pendant tightly and looked up at Fakir. "Fakir! I had a dream last night!"

* * *

Well, that's the first chapter! Please, comment and review!


	2. Another dream

Chapter 2...

I don't own Princess Tutu or any of its characters. I do not claim any of it.

So how was my first chapter? I hope you liked it. Well, I don't have a lot to say right now, but uh....here's chapter two! Enjoy!

* * *

After Ahiru finished telling Fakir of the dream she had had involving Princess Tutu, he sat down at his desk and began thinking with his arms crossed. Ahiru stayed silent, for fear of interrupting Fakir's train of thought but as the silence drew on, Ahiru felt a bit awkward. "Um, Fakir?"

Fakir seemed to snap out of his focus and let out a sigh. Getting up from his chair, he walked over to the small dresser on the other side of the room and pulled out a white night shirt. Tossing it on the bed beside Ahiru, he said, "With what little information we have right now, I don't know what to think about your dream or why and how it is that you're a girl again. That's why, I think that we should focus on what we can do at the moment, starting with getting you something to wear." He pointed at the shirt and continued. "For now, you can wear that shirt. I'll go out to Raetsel's place and see if she would let you borrow anything."

Fakir turned around and headed for the door and as he left, Ahiru said, "Thanks Fakir." Suddenly he paused in the doorway. He stood there for a few moments, seeming to consider something, and then said, "....Welcome back, Ahiru." As Fakir closed the door on his way out, Ahiru smiled at him. Then, she turned her attention to the shirt beside her and slipped the blankets off her shoulders. Pulling the shirt over her head she looked down at herself to see that on her, the shirt was more like a night gown. Ahiru let out a little breath and looked out the window.

"I'm back."

* * *

Fakir was quick to return with a simple light blue dress and once Ahiru had slipped into it, they both decided that they should have something to eat. After Fakir had prepared their small meal and they were both seated at the table, they began discussing what should be done next. "I suppose we'll have to re-enroll you at the academy." At this, Ahiru was practically squealing with delight; On the inside, of course.

"Um, but...does that mean I'll have to move back into the dorms again?" At this, Fakir raised an eyebrow at her and Ahiru blushed. "Well, you see, I've been living here for a while now as a duck, so I just think that it would feel weird to suddenly go back to the dorms again." Fakir stared at her for a moment and then smiled slightly.

"Well, if I explained it to Charon, I'm sure he'd be fine with you sleeping here. We could put you in the spare bedroom upstairs." Ahiru smiled and continued eating her breakfast. "Of course, we'll have to clear it with the new headmaster."

"The new headmaster? It's not Neko-sensei anymore?" Ahiru asked. Fakir nodded. "That's right, I never told you, did I? Well, after the Raven was defeated, everyone went back to their true forms. All the people who used to be human turned back into humans and those that were animals to begin with returned to being a normal animal. As such, Neko-sensei returned to being a cat."

"Oh...I guess I really have missed a lot haven't I?" Ahiru frowned for a moment but then shook it away. "So, when are we going to the academy?" she asked in a more cheery tone. Fakir, who noticed the momentary lapse in Ahiru's bright demeanor, nearly sighed. "I suppose we should go tomorrow morning before classes start. Besides, I doubt anyone's at the academy on a Sunday."

"I guess you're right." Ahiru giggled. As the two finished breakfast, they stood up and began cleaning up the dining space. As Ahiru bustled about, carefully bringing the dishes to the sink, Fakir took a quick glance at her. Ahiru looked almost exactly the same as she was before except for the fact that she might have grown an inch or two. However, this was to be expected since it was only a year that had passed and, frankly, Fakir was glad. It meant that he hadn't missed much.

As Fakir stared at her, Ahiru noticed eventually and asked, "Fakir? Is something wrong?" Fakir jumped and then shook his head. "No."

"Then why were you staring at me for so long?" she pushed. Fakir forced down the urge to glare at her for her prying attitude and began washing the dishes. "I...I was just thinking that we need to get you a set of your own clothes." He thought up quickly.

Ahiru looked down at Raetsel's dress and picked at it. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I bet Raetsel would want this back eventually." Fakir nodded as he continued washing dishes. "I wonder if I'll be able to find my old clothes again. I really liked that sweater..." Fakir smiled slightly as she began thinking about it.

"Well, we'll head out after I finish up here. But I don't have too much money right now so we can only really buy one set of clothes and something to sleep in, alright?" Ahiru turned her thoughts back to Fakir and nodded with a bright smile.

* * *

Just as Fakir had said, he took her out to find her some extra clothes and much to Fakir's relief, it hadn't taken too long. Ahiru was rather quick to pick what she wanted. She had even found an outfit that resembled her old one, a yellowish turtle neck that was short sleeved this time and a pair of yellow shorts. They had also bought a pair of generic brown loafers as well as a plain white night gown. All in all, Fakir was also relieved that their purchases were pretty cheap. When Fakir had commented about it, Ahiru simply answered, "Well, I guess I'm not very picky." Typical.

Once they had arrived back, it was an hour or two past noon and Charon had decided to come home early. When he saw the two walk in through the door, it was clear that he was quite surprised to see a girl following behind his introverted son. "Fakir, you're home..." Charon smiled comfortingly at Ahiru. _I guess Charon doesn't remember me..._Ahiru thought sadly. "So, who might this young lady be?"

"This is Ahiru. She's a...good friend of Mytho's. You remember him, right?" Charon nodded immediately.

"Ah, how could I forget the Prince. I really do think that he should visit more often, but I suppose being a King now he has many duties to fulfill." Charon turned towards Ahiru and extended a friendly hand out towards her. "It's nice to meet you, Ahiru. But, what brings you here?"

"Ah..." Ahiru's eyes looked to Fakir for guidance. Ahiru didn't want to say something wrong in case Fakir already had a story planned.

"Mytho sent her here. He said that when he returned to his kingdom, he found that she was in hiding. Apparently some people were after her and he thought that the safest place at the moment for her would be far away, here in Kinkan. So he was wondering if we would take care of her for the time being."

"Oh, I see." Charon stared at Ahiru with wonder. He wondered why such a small girl who looked so innocent would want to be killed. "Well, it's a little last minute, but I think it should be alright for you to stay with us. I'll have the extra bedroom ready for you by tonight."

Ahiru smiled. "Thank you very much, Charon! Oh, and I promise I won't be any trouble!" Charon chuckled as he began making his way up the stairs. "Oh, it's no problem at all, Ahiru." Ahiru watched as Charon disappeared up the stairs and then sighed.

"Charon doesn't remember me..." Ahiru said sulkily. Fakir frowned and then sighed with a shake of his head. "Come on Ahiru, let's go help Charon with the room." Ahiru nodded and followed Fakir up the stairs. Fakir was right to have told Ahiru to help with the extra room because it was actually quite cluttered. The floor was gathering a thin layer of dust and the brown dresser on one side of the room had cobwebs hanging off it. The bed, since it was not in use, was simply a mattress and there were papers and cardboard boxes everywhere. Not only that, there were weapons and pieces of armor that lined one wall and Ahiru made absolutely sure to stay as far away from them as possible. However, once Fakir, Charon and Ahiru were through with it, it looked like an actual bedroom instead of a storage room.

After smoothing out the sheets on her newly made bed, Ahiru flopped down on it with a sigh of relief. "Wow! That took forever! I'm bushed." Fakir smirked and shook his head at her. "What are you talking about? Me and Charon did all the heavy lifting." Ahiru lifted her head and glared at him.

Fakir headed for the door to hide his growing smirk. "I'm going to see if dinner's ready." he said as he descended the stairs. He peered into the kitchen where the dining table stood and found that Charon was just setting the plates up. Fakir went back to the stairs and called, "Hey, Ahiru! Dinner's ready." Fakir waited a few moments before leaving the stairs to take his seat but when no reply at all came, he made his way up. "Ahiru?"

"Ahiru, what are you doing? I told you, dinner is-" Fakir paused in the doorway. Ahiru was curled up on the bed with her head snuggling into the pillow. It seemed that Ahiru really was tired from fixing up the room as she hadn't even taken the time to change into her night gown. Fakir smiled at her sleeping figure and quietly walked over to the dresser where the lamp that Ahiru had asked Fakir to keep, stood illuminating the room. He blew out the candle inside the lamp and went back downstairs to eat.

* * *

_Ahiru woke up in a place filled with darkness, just as it was in her previous dream. Sitting up, she asked herself, 'Is this another dream?'. She stood up and brushed herself off. Looking around she grew worried. Nothing was happening, no one could be seen and the darkness still remained. "Hello? Is anyone here?"_

_As if answering her, a single spotlight appeared a few paces away from her. In the middle of that spotlight was Rue in the royal dress that Ahiru had last seen her in. The elegant dress seemed to sparkle in the light but it could not keep Ahiru's attention away from Rue's face. She had a look of terror in her eyes and her mouth was moving, but only slightly. Her lips looked as if they were forming words but no sound at all came from them. _

_"Rue? W-what's wrong?" Ahiru frowned. She moved towards her friend, wanting to comfort her but when she stepped forward, Rue fell to her knees and held her head in her hands. Her lips looked as if they were screaming now and her eyes were closed tight. "Rue...?" _

_Suddenly, Ahiru gasped when she felt an arm snake around her waist and hold her close against whoever it was behind her. Another gloved hand appeared from behind her and took her chin, twisting her head to look behind her. "M-mytho!?" Ahiru was almost glad to see him but when she saw his attire she began to feel uncomfortable. Her prince was not wearing his signature princely clothes, but the clothes of the Raven Prince. In his eyes, she could see that they were intense and held an evil glare in them."Rue doesn't love me anymore..." he said in an suspiciously calm tone and before Ahiru could reply to that, his hand moved her head to face Rue once again. As she stared at Rue's despairing figure in the spotlight, she felt Mytho's breath on her ear as he leaned in close. "She refused to get me any hearts to eat." At this, Ahiru stiffened and gasped as a sharp pain began piercing her chest. _

_ Ahiru looked down at her chest and found Mytho's hands digging into her flesh, reaching for her heart. Ahiru was shocked by Mytho's actions and too consumed by pain to even think to scream. All she could do was turned her head to look at him, his mouth turned up in an evil grin and his eyes seemed uncaring. Then, as she began to fall unconscious, Mytho released her and she fell to the ground. As she laid there, she felt an emptiness in her chest and was barely able to force out her last words. "Mytho...why?" _

"Ahiru! Hey, come on! Wake up!" Ahiru woke up with a start, panting and sweating and clung onto the closest thing, or rather person, she could find. For a moment though, she had no idea where she was but it soon came back to her that she had awoken in her new room. "F-Fakir?" Ahiru asked carefully as she gripped at the front of Fakir's shirt for comfort. Fakir had a worried frown on his face and asked, "What's with you, moron? You probably woke up the entire town!"

"M-mytho, he-" Ahiru began to cry and tremble as she remembered what had happened in her dream and at the reality of the pain. She wrapped her arms around herself to try and keep herself from shaking but with no success. Fakir really began to worry. It was clear that she was very distressed.

"Ahiru." He said, gripping her shoulders. "What happened?" Ahiru did her best to compose herself but the tears kept flowing. However, she had managed to stop shaking and lifted her head to speak. "I had another dream...but this time..." Ahiru shook her head with disbelief. "I saw Rue, and she was in despair. She was screaming, I know it, but I couldn't hear her...and that's when..." Ahiru gulped.

Fakir shook her gently and pushed her on, "What happened next, Ahiru?" Wiping away her tears, Ahiru answered , "That's when Mytho appeared behind me. But he wasn't himself! It was like when he was possessed by the raven's blood. And he told me that Rue didn't love him anymore because she wouldn't give him any hearts to eat." As Ahiru continued, her voice grew quieter and quieter and her trembles started up again. "And then...he...h-he ripped out my heart!"

As Ahiru began to shake again, Fakir found that he was speechless. What in the world had caused Ahiru to have such a dream, involving the Prince no less! But as she began to sob quietly, Fakir knew that although it could mean nothing, it was truly terrifying to her at the moment. So, with just a little bit of reluctance, Fakir pulled Ahiru in and wrapped his arms around her. "Ahiru..."

* * *

Well, there's chapter 2! Sorry if it seemed kinda weird at some points. Also, in the dream, where Mytho rips out Ahiru's heart, uh well, I got that from this fanart I saw in a youtube video. It was basically a slide show to the song 'Yochou' I think it is? Ah, for those that don't know, 'Yochou' is a song from Princess Tutu. It usually plays when dealing with dark secrets or stuff to do with the ravens, I think. I thought that it would really help convey my ideas for the plot. So, uh, since I've got nothing else to say, please comment and review!

Oh and, if you would like to see the picture, I'm not really sure if I should be posting links here so just go to deviantart and either look for InuLeeli or go to youtube and search, 'Princess Tutu OST- Yochou'. So...oh! And if I don't get anything posted by then, merry christmas!


	3. Reunion

Hey! Christmas break has finally started (erm, as of last friday) so I hope to finish at least two or three chapters in the two weeks away from school. So uh...oh yeah, if any of the characters go out of character please let me know! I mean, it gets on _my_ nerves sometimes when characters are seriously ooc, so I'd rather not be a hypocrite. And thanks a lot for the reviews! Glad to see people actually like this, woohoo! Also, I will probably switch Neko-sensei's name to Mr. Cat whenever he is referred to because I have no idea about honorifics so if I won't be using honorifics for anyone else, then I might as well keep the continuity. So...hehe?

I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters.

* * *

The next morning, Fakir knocked on Ahiru's door bright and early to make sure that she didn't sleep in, after all, it wouldn't look particularly good if she was late for school before she was even admitted into it. Returning to his room, Fakir quickly got dressed for school and headed down towards the dining table where Charon sat already eating breakfast.

"Ah, Fakir, up already?" Charon asked in a light tone. Fakir nodded and sat down beside him. "So, did you figure out what all that screaming was about last night?" Fakir froze suddenly for a moment as he went to grab a piece of toast from across the table.

"She was just having a nightmare." After having heard an answer, Charon seemed to drop the conversation but after a few moments of silence, asked, "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine." Just as Fakir finished speaking, Ahiru walked in and quietly sat down at the table.

"Good morning." Ahiru greeted with a smile, yet, her tone was heavy. As she began eating her breakfast silently, Fakir stared at her worriedly. It wasn't like her to be so subdued no matter what the situation. Although Charon had only just met Ahiru, as far as he knew, he could still see that something was obviously wrong. Charon leaned in slightly towards Fakir and whispered, "She doesn't look fine to me, Fakir." Fakir could only nod in agreement.

Suddenly, after finishing his small meal, he stood up and pulled Ahiru up by the arm. "C'mon, we're going." Ahiru gasped as she was pulled into stride behind Fakir and dropped her half eaten sandwich on her plate. "F-Fakir!? But I'm not done eating breakfa-" Ahiru was cut off as Fakir reached down onto her plate and shoved the rest of the sandwich in her mouth. However, even though the sandwich stuck out of her mouth, making speech rather hard, she still insisted on complaining although it came out as muffled ramblings. Fakir, paying no attention to Ahiru's complaints, dragged her through the door, leaving a confused Charon at the table.

Fakir pulled Ahiru in the direction of the academy and as they neared it, Ahiru took a bite out of her sandwich before finally pulling it out of her mouth. Once she had swallowed, she pulled her arm free of Fakir's grasp, causing him to turn around. "Fakir, what was the big idea, huh?"Ahiru demanded.

"What do you mean, 'what's the big idea'? You're the one who came down to breakfast depressed this morning." Ahiru flinched at the sternness in his eyes and in his tone and looked down.

"Well, I just, you know, had a lot to think about..." Ahiru mumbled. Fakir sighed and crossed his arms. "About the dream?" She nodded.

"Look, I know you're probably going to say something like, 'Moron, it was just a dream. It's pointless to get so worked up over something like that.'" Ahiru mimicked in the best 'Fakir' voice she could do and then lifted her head to look Fakir in the eye. "And I know that I shouldn't get_ too_ worried about it since nothing's happened yet but I can't help it! You remember what I told you about those two dreams I had, right? In the first one, Princess Tutu told me that there would be challenges ahead. And now, I have a dream about Mytho being..." Ahiru closed her eyes, not wanting to remember her most recent dream.

"Ahiru, calm down." Ahiru's eyes snapped open and she stared at Fakir with a frown. "I understand how you feel. After being in one of Drosselmeyer's stories, it's hard not to feel paranoid. But, I'm not saying that you shouldn't. All that's been happening is making me suspicious as well but until we really know what's going on, there's nothing we can do. We'll just have to keep our eyes open." Ahiru's mood seemed to lighten slightly at this but Fakir could see that she still seemed worried. So, he added, "And...if this is another one of Drosselmeyer's sick tragedies, or anyone's for that matter, then we'll be there to keep the story from going down that path." Now, Ahiru really seemed to brighten up.

"Yeah!" She yelled excitedly with a fist in the air. "That's right! If the two of us work together, we'll definitely make this story have a happy ending too! I don't know why I was even so worried in the first place!" As Ahiru began marching onward to the academy, sandwich still in hand, Fakir smiled. She was definitely still the same Ahiru, so full of hope.

When Fakir and Ahiru arrived at the academy, there were already students beginning to wander the halls, wasting time before lessons started. Although there were only a few students here and there, Ahiru felt as if there were hundreds of eyes staring at her as they made their way to the headmaster's office. Every time the two of them would pass a small group of students they all turned their heads and stared at Ahiru, some glaring, some with wonder. As this began happening more and more as they walked down the halls, Ahiru began to shy away behind Fakir.

_ They're probably just staring at me because I'm new here and I don't have a uniform yet. That's probably why..._Ahiru thought to reassure herself. At her new start at Kinkan Academy, Ahiru didn't want people to start thinking she was weird right off the bat like before. Absorbed in her thoughts, Ahiru hadn't noticed when Fakir stopped and lightly bumped into him. "Moron. Watching where you're going." Ignoring the face that Ahiru shot at him, he turned towards the door in front of him and knocked on it.

"Come in!" Fakir opened the door and followed in behind Ahiru. Ahiru smiled as she took in the familiar office. She had been her once or twice before, the first being when she first enrolled in the academy. However, a few things were different. Instead of Mr. Cat waiting for her behind the large wooden desk, it was a very human man with neatly combed black hair that somehow still looked messy and round glasses. In one corner of the room was an average sized basket lined with a blanket where a white cat lay tending to her litter. Sitting just outside the basket was a very familiar purple cat staring lovingly at his family.

Ahiru smiled and she giggled mentally. _It looks like Mr. Cat got his happy ending too! He finally found a bride._ Fakir nudged her slightly, bringing her out of her thoughts again. "Hey, don't blank out like you usually do." Ahiru pouted at him, mostly because he was right. Ahiru wanted to make a good first impression on the new headmaster.

"Ah, Fakir, good morning. Who's this?" The headmaster adjusted his glasses and smiled at Ahiru.

"This is a friend of mine. Her name is Ahiru. Until recently, she's been living out of the country but due to special circumstances, she was sent to live with me and my guardian." The headmaster nodded with understanding and then said, "And you thought it would be best if she spent her time here in Kinkan at school?" Fakir nodded and the headmaster got up and headed towards a tall shelf against the wall. Running his index finger across the rows of books and folders, he finally stopped at a certain folder and brought it back to his desk. As he flipped through the pages he asked, "So, what is it that Miss Ahiru wants to take up here at Kinkan?"

"Ballet!" She answered quickly with excitement. The headmaster nodded his head and began scribbling on one of the pages in the folder. After, he flipped all the way to the back of the folder where a labeled map of what looked to be a building was taped to the back cover. His eyes scanned over it and then he stroked his chin. "Hm, well, this may be a problem."

Ahiru froze. "A...problem?" The headmaster nodded and tapped his finger on the paper.

"Yes, it looks like we don't have anymore available rooms in the girls' dormitory. There have been quite a few new students enrolling in the academy recently, not to mention we have a few former students coming back for a while..." Ahiru sighed with relief. It was simply a problem of living arrangements.

"Well, I could, maybe, continue living with Fakir and Charon." The headmaster seemed to stop to consider this for a moment. "Well, I don't know. I rather think that...a boy...and a girl..." As he continued speaking, Ahiru could feel a change in the atmosphere and in the headmaster's tone. "...living together in the same home...is something that is done only after m-m-marriage!" Ahiru cringed and in her mind, all she could think was, _Boy, if this guy was 's owner before the story started, well, it would definitely explain Mr. Cat's marriage proposals. _ Almost immediately, the headmaster caught himself and cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose that would be fine. Now then," The headmaster got up and opened a small cabinet in the room and produced a neatly folded uniform and handed it to Ahiru.

"Follow me. I'll have to inform the ballet teacher of the new student. She will introduce you once classes start. After, we will see about getting you the proper dance wear." As the headmaster walked around the desk, he held out his hand to Ahiru who took it happily. "Also, I am Mr. Dion." From there, Mr. Dion led Ahiru and Fakir to the lesson room and opened the door to see the teacher going through her stretches before the class arrived. She immediately took notice of them and turned to them.

"Oh, good morning, Mr. Dion." she greeted in a light tone. He nodded his greeting back to her and stepped aside to introduce the new student. "Miss. Lorna, this is Miss. Ahiru. She will be joining your class today."

"Ah, it's nice to meet you." Miss. Lorna smiled brightly at her and then looked back to the headmaster.

"Thank you for informing me, Mr. Dion. I'll take it from here." Mr. Dion nodded and headed back to his office. "Ahiru, welcome to Kinkan Academy. If you don't mind, you'll have to come with me. We need to find you a fitting leotard and a pair of ballet slippers." Ahiru nodded and followed Miss. Lorna out of the lesson room. Fakir stayed put and watched them as they left.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for class to start and for everyone to arrive. After everyone had finished their warm-ups, Miss. Lorna gathered everyone to one side of room. "Everyone, today, we have a new student joining us. Ahiru?" Ahiru opened the door and popped her head in. Shyly, she made her way over to Miss. Lorna and waved awkwardly to everyone. "Um, it's nice to...meet everyone!" _Again._

"Ahiru, would you like to dance a little for us?" Ahiru jumped. "Ah, n-no, it's okay! I wouldn't want to waste time to-"

"Oh, no, it's quite alright. Please, go ahead." Ahiru giggled nervously. _Oh no..._With a gulp, Ahiru waited until the pianist began playing. _Here goes._ But Ahiru was so nervous that she couldn't think of what to do. Her legs wouldn't move because she had no idea what to dance. But as the music played, Ahiru found the tune familiar. Then, she thought back to the pas de deux that she had danced with Rue before. And so, Ahiru closed her eyes and mimicked that dance as best she could, making up steps to replace the parts that required a partner.

The dance had turned out almost exactly like Ahiru had remembered. Even the made up parts seemed to fit in alright. However, just as Ahiru had remembered it, her dancing also still seemed to hold duck-like qualities. So, as Ahiru's dance ended, she opened her eyes and saw the expressions on her class's faces. Some were surprised, others were just blank and others were obviously trying to hold in giggles. Ahiru gulped and looked down at her feet. It was definitely not a particularly good start to her new life at the academy. But then, suddenly, she heard someone clapping. When she looked up and searched the crowd for that one person, she found that it was Fakir. Then, one by one, everyone else followed suit, even the ones her were trying not to giggle. They were obviously just trying to follow Fakir, but it still made Ahiru feel better.

Ahiru made her way off the dance floor and sat down beside Fakir. "Thanks a lot, Fakir." Ahiru whispered gratefully. Fakir could only smile slightly in response.

"Alright, now that our new student has been introduced, let's get on with today's lesson. Today, we will be working with the barre again so, if you would..." Miss. Lorna motioned towards the barre and everyone took their place at the barre and began the exercises. Ahiru had taken her spot at the back and copied the exercises. It wasn't long before she found herself surrounded by a dynamic duo.

"My, my! The new student is so adorable! So bold too!" Ahiru felt shivers down her spine as she recognized the high voice of her old friend, Lillie.

"She's right. Your first day and you're already making moves on the wonderful Fakir." Ahiru turned her head to the purple haired girl in front of her. "Ah, no! Me and Fakir, we're not like that. Fakir's just a really good friend of mine."

Pique made an almost inaudible sound, somewhat like a sigh of relief, but it was so quiet that Ahiru had barely heard it. "I see. Well, by the way, I'm Pique. The one behind you there is Lillie." Ahiru beamed.

"It's nice to meet you two. I'm Ahiru."

"Oh, I can just tell, we're going to have so much fun together!" Lillie exclaimed. Miss. Lorna glanced in their direction and crossed her arms. "Girls, please focus over there. I don't want to have to give the three of you cleaning duty."

"Yes ma'am." All three said in unison. Once Miss. Lorna turned her attention towards another student who was having difficulties, Pique leaned in slightly to Ahiru. "We'll talk after class. You have to tell us all about yourself and how you know the wonderful Fakir!"

* * *

After class, Ahiru had met up with Pique and Lillie and they began walking around the school grounds aimlessly. "So, Ahiru, how do you know Fakir?"

"Are you childhood friends with a tragic past!? Were you two suddenly separated by hateful families?" Lillie asked full of excitement. Ahiru could only smile nervously. It was already feeling like old times.

"Well you see..." Ahiru tapped her chin. _Oh, how did Fakir's story go?_ "Uh, do you know Mytho and Rue?"

"Of course. Apparently Mytho really was a Prince. Go figure. And I guess it was only natural that he would go and whisk away Rue as his princess." Ahiru nodded.

"Well, I used to live in Mytho's kingdom. I was a good friend of his." The two girls on either side of her gasped.

"What is it like over there?" Ahiru began giggling nervously. "Well, you know, since Mytho hadn't been to his kingdom for a long while things got kinda out of hand. Most of the time I was hiding."

"Hiding?" Ahiru grew focused again and tried to remember how Fakir had said it. "Well, you see, back in Mytho's kingdom, there were some people who were after me."

"You mean they wanted to kill you!?" Ahiru nodded and continued. "Y-yeah, and so, when the Prince returned and found me hiding in his castle, he decided that...um, since he would be pretty busy with rebuilding his kingdom, that the safest place for me to stay for the time being would be here in Kinkan town since it was far away. So, since Mytho didn't really know anyone too well here, he sent me to live with Fakir and Charon."

"So...wait, that means...you're living in the same house as the wonderful Fakir!?" Pique asked in a whisper. Ahiru nodded but suddenly she felt a choking death grip around her neck. "Oh don't worry poor Ahiru! We'll protect you!" Ahiru pulled at Lillie's arms until she finally let go. As Ahiru gasped for breath, she asked, "P-protect me? From...what?"

"Ahiru, you didn't know? Well I guess we can't blame you since you're new. Ever since Mytho left, Fakir has been the prime target for nearly all the obsessed fangirls in school. I'm a Fakir girl myself, but you're really lucky that I'm not as scary as the others. Some Fakir girls can get pretty....uh, you probably don't want to know."Ahiru felt light headed. She desperately hoped that simply living with Fakir wouldn't get her into too much trouble. Just hearing about it from her friends was already starting to frighten her.

As they continued walking, Pike and Lillie gave her a tour of the school and for some reason, Ahiru found it quite hard to pretend as if this was her first time seeing each building and school landmark. Eventually, the three of them had decided to have a break at the fountain and sat down on a bench.

"So how has-"

"Ahiru?" All three girls twisted around in their seats. However happy Ahiru might have been to see the two familiar faces behind her she couldn't help but jump up from her seat with a 'quack' when she saw both Mytho _and _Rue standing there in their school uniforms.

* * *

Oh boy, sorry this chapter was so long. 3000 words. Oh my...in any case, I hope you like it. I didn't really mean to make this chapter so long, but for some reason I had a hard time figuring out where exactly to end this. Oh well. Oh yes! And I'm very happy with people's comments, I'm glad people have taken an interest in my story. Don't be afraid to critique though! See ya next time!


	4. A cry for help

Okay, chapter 4! I don't have very much to say right now so I'll just get on with it.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters.**

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* * *

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Ahiru could see the shocked looks of Rue and Mytho and their subtle hints to go hide just before she found herself shrinking. Ahiru quickly tied her clothes around her neck and made a dash towards the back of one of the nearby buildings. As Pique and Lillie turned around to ask Ahiru why in the world she was so jumpy, they frowned to see that their friend had run away.

"I guess she's just easily startled, huh?" Pique asked no one in particularly. She shrugged it off, but Lillie seemed delighted at this new piece of information. "Oh, this year really _is_ going to be fun!" Except for an annoyed sigh, Pique mostly ignored her friend's comment and turned back to Mytho and Rue.

"But...what are you two doing back?"

Mytho smiled at Pique and Lillie, causing them to gasp at the new sight. Ever since they had known Mytho, they had never seen him smile at all! "Well, Rue thought that I needed a little break from tending to my kingdom. It has become a bit overwhelming."

"If you don't mind, though, we'll be on our way now. I think we need to speak with Ahiru. Come, Prince." Rue said with a slight smile in the other girls' direction as she pulled Mytho by the arm.

Meanwhile, behind one of the school buildings, Ahiru stood on her toes, reaching for the handle of the water faucet. She was just about an inch away from being able to grab onto it, so Ahiru jumped and pushed the tap, opening the water. Ahiru landed on her butt with a thud and easily turned off the water now that she was a girl again. She looked at herself. "It looks like I can still turn into a duck." she sighed. "I guess it can't be helped." Quickly, she got up and slipped into her uniform again.

"Ahiru?" Ahiru's head snapped to the voice rounding the corner of the building and hurriedly did up the last of the buttons on her shirt.

"Um, y-yes?" She called out. Suddenly, Rue and Mytho rounded the corner and Ahiru immediately relaxed. "Mytho! Rue! What are you guys doing here?"

"What are _we _doing here? What are _you_ doing here, Ahiru?" Rue asked with disbelief. "You're a girl again!"

Ahiru giggled and scratched her head. "Well, it's kinda a long story...classes are over for today so why don't you guys just come over to Fakir's house and we'll let you guys know all about it." Ahiru grabbed Rue's hand happily and began leading her and Mytho towards the library. "We should probably go get Fakir first. I think he said he would be in the library."

Ahiru burst into the library excitedly and practically ran towards the reading area. Sure enough, Fakir was seated at a desk on the far side of the room, quietly reading a book. "Fakir! Look, it's-!"

"Will you please be quiet!" Ahiru jumped and looked up to the railing above her head. Autor was standing in front of one the shelves and was now glaring down at them. However, his glare turned into a look of surprise as he realized who it was that he had shushed.

"It's you! How-" But then, Autor's eyes drifted to the girl trailing behind Ahiru. She wasn't looking up at him so he couldn't see her face, but not in a million years could he mistake that raven hair and ivory skin for anyone else. "Rue..." Then she looked up at him. She gave him an apologetic smile and turned away. His heart sank as his gaze drifted towards the white-haired boy beside her. _I see... _Mytho sensed the boy's gaze and looked at him. As the two exchanged glances, Mytho felt a strange sensation boiling in his chest. However, he just couldn't place what it was.

"I'm so sorry!" Autor grumbled to himself as he took a book from the shelf and proceeded to the desk nearby. Meanwhile, Fakir, who had heard Ahiru's call, immediately came over, his book tucked away under his arm and nearly gasped.

"Mytho. Rue. What are you two doing here?" he asked, pleasantly surprised. Mytho chuckled. "Come, we'll explain once we get back to your house."

* * *

"So I had this dream where I was dancing with Princess Tutu, and then I suddenly woke up as a girl! That's when I found out that I had this pendant." Ahiru jumped as she remembered something and then turned to Fakir. "Oh, and it looks like I can still turn back into a duck whenever I...uh, you know." Fakir nodded as he poured tea into the cups in front of his guests. Turning back to Rue and Mytho, she added, "But the weird thing was, was that Princess Tutu told me that there would be challenges along the way! But so far, we haven't seen anything suspicious."

"I see..." Rue said in a melancholy tone. Mytho frowned with concern and put his hand comfortingly over hers and then smiled at Ahiru. "Well, for now, it's good to see you again, Ahiru. It's great that you're a girl again."

"So what's your story now? What brings you here to Kinkan so suddenly?" Fakir asked as he sat down across from them.

"Well, you see, after Rue and I returned to my kingdom in the story, we found that all was not as I had left it. My kingdom had fallen into chaos. So, there was much to be done to put things back in order and to return my kingdom to its former glory. So far, I've managed to restore law and order, but rebuilding the buildings and lives that had been torn apart by the chaos is proving to be a much harder task. It was putting a lot of stress on me so Rue thought that I should come here to Kinkan to relax."

"Oh, speaking of your kingdom, Mytho, but you see, to cover up Ahiru's sudden reappearance and to make an excuse for her to live here, we told Charon that you sent Ahiru here from your kingdom. Our story was that Ahiru was being targeted by someone and so you sent her here to live with us so that she could be safe."

"Oh I see. Well, I promise not to ruin the secret." Mytho said with a smile.

As the four of them began talking and catching up with each other, time seemed to fly by and before they knew it, it was already dark out. Rue twisted around in her chair and got up. "Oh, it looks like we have to go. People might get worried if we arrive at the dorms too late."

"Will you two be going to class tomorrow?" Ahiru asked. Rue nodded and immediately Ahiru brightened. "Okay! Then we'll see you guys tomorrow!"

The two nodded as they walked out the door, leaving Ahiru and Fakir behind to clean up the table and the teacups. Not long after, though, they heard a knocking on the door. "I'll get it!" Ahiru said happily as she ran to the door. When she answered it, Rue was standing there.

"Oh, hi Rue! Did you forget something?" Rue stayed silent for a moment and simply stared at Ahiru. In her eyes, Ahiru could see a touch of hysteria and worry. Suddenly, the image of Rue's despairing figure from her dream, flashed across her mind. "Rue? W-what's wrong?"

"Mytho said that I suggested that he come here to get away from the stress." Rue replied in a hushed voice. "But that's not entirely true."

"What?"

"I brought him here because I thought that seeing you and Fakir and Kinkan town, would help him keep sight of himself." Ahiru was beginning to get worried. The thickness of Rue's voice, as if she was holding back tears, kept giving Ahiru a feeling of uneasiness. Something obviously wasn't right.

"What do you mean, Rue?"

"A few months after returning to Mytho's kingdom, I could sense it. Something was wrong with him. At first, I really thought that it was simply stress. But then...I saw those eyes. Every now and then, his eyes would flash red and I would catch him staring at some of his servants and maids. Then...recently, I-I...." Rue collapsed to her knees. Ahiru knelt down, eyes full of concern and, although she knew better, she urged her friend on. "What...happened?"

"I saw him, in an abandoned part of the castle town, with one of his maids. She lay dead in a pool of her own blood, and...her heart had been cut out." By this point, Ahiru was barely listening, for, she already knew. Her dream was coming true, Mytho was already searching for hearts. "He feinted then, and I brought him back to the castle. When he woke up, he had no memory of what he had done."

"Ahiru, you have to help me watch over him. I...I think that the raven's blood that still runs through his veins is fighting for control again and I don't know whether or not he'll do something like that again. That's why, you have to help me watch over him until I can figure out how to help him." Ahiru could only nod.

"Is it...okay for me to tell Fakir?" Ahiru asked timidly. Rue nodded and brought herself up. She took a deep breath to compose herself and then said, "I think that it would be best if we all knew what was going on, just in case something happens again." Rue turned around. "I suppose I should go catch up with Mytho now...and...thank you Ahiru."

Ahiru smiled sadly and nodded. As Rue disappeared into the distance, Ahiru shut the door and returned to the kitchen where Fakir was just finishing his clean up. "So, who was it?"

"Fakir..." Ahiru began seriously causing Fakir to turn all the way around to face her. "Hm?"

"My nightmare...it's coming true."


	5. Hearts

Man, I'm in a very good mood today. I'm pretty sure that everyone whose seen Princess Tutu, knows that most of the music are actual classical pieces by different composers. Before watching Princess Tutu I liked classical music but I never really bothered to really look up names or famous pieces. I would just listen to whatever was on the radio. That's why, when I found that I fell in love with some of the music from Princess Tutu, I had no idea what some of the pieces were called. But recently, I've found a few, namely, _Danse Macabre _by _Camille Saint-Saens_. For those who might not know where exactly this plays, it's the background music for much of episode 24. Not only that, I've been listening to a lot of that kind of music while writing my these chapters so it's really getting me in the mood for writing ;D

Sadly, around next week, I'm definitely going to have to cut down on the amount of writing I do because I really have to focus on a french ISU that's due after the break so...yeah.

* * *

The next day, Ahiru and Fakir had arrived to class together. Fakir had gone to do his stretches leaving Ahiru at the door. She made to go follow when a group of girls blocked her path.

"Who do you think you are? Sitting so close to him on your first day, walking to class together, we've even heard that you're living with him!" raged the girl who seemed to be the leader of the group. She had dark brown hair and deep red eyes. If Ahiru hadn't known any better, she would have thought that this girl was a crow.

"W-well, Fakir's just a really good friend of mine..." The crow-like girl snorted at her.

"Oh, nice try, but you're not going to fool us." The other girls around Ahiru nodded seriously and Ahiru began to shrink back against the closed door behind her. "You really need to learn your place, uh...whatever your name is."

"Her name is Ahiru." Pique and Lillie pushed their way through the group of girls and stood protectively in front of Ahiru. "And we're not going to let you pick on her."

"That's right!" Lillie pitched in enthusiastically.

"Guys!"

"Told you we'd protect you." Ahiru smiled gratefully. Her friends really did have her back. For a few moments, each group simply glared at each other, an intense staring contest of sorts. However, the crow-like girl had become fed up with it as it seemed they were at a stalemate and, with a 'humph' turned on her heel and went to her stretches. Ahiru let out a sigh of relief.

"Thanks a lot guys! But uh...did you guys happen to tell anyone that I was living with Fakir?" Ahiru's eyes shifted towards Lillie.

"Who? Us? No way!" Lillie defended herself halfheartedly. She was obviously enjoying her little slip of words. Of course, Pique knew the truth and crossed her arms. "What are you talking about? You practically yelled it out in the school yard."

"Did not." Just then, Miss Lorna entered the room and said, "Okay everyone! If you would all just take a seat for a moment."

"It seems that we have yet another new student joining our class today. Two in fact. However, I'm sure most of you already know them as they used to attend Kinkan academy. At the moment, no one knows whether or not they will be staying for a full year but for now, why don't we give them a warm welcome back. Rue! Mytho!"

Suddenly, the room was filled with whispers of amazement and surprise as the couple stepped out onto the floor. Then, they began to dance. Ahiru watched intently as this was the first time that Ahiru had actually seen the two dance a pas de deux while the Prince's heart was complete.

Despite their dances being beautiful back when the Prince was still heartless, they were even more beautiful now that he had all his emotions back. It was a dance of happiness, passion, and most of all, love. As Ahiru watched, she almost forgot of the dark situation at hand. It looked as if there was no trace at all of the presence of raven's blood. They looked as happy as they were when Mytho had chosen Rue as his princess.

But it seemed that Ahiru had spoken too soon. Even from where Ahiru was sitting, she saw, for a single moment, that Mytho's eyes had flashed red as he brought Rue up in a lift. At that moment, Mytho began screaming out in pain and collapsed, falling into unconsciousness. As such, Rue too, had fallen from the lift.

"Rue! Mytho!" Ahiru cried out. Ahiru looked to Fakir and he was just as concerned as she was.

"Marian! Go get the nurse!" Miss Lorna knelt down by Rue and Mytho gently inspected them. "Arg, they're both unconscious." It seemed that when Rue had fallen, she had hit her head on the floor. Miss Lorna gently took her hand and felt around Rue's head, searching for blood or a bump at the least.

Before long, the nurse arrived with help and carried both Mytho and Rue back to the nurse's room. Miss Lorna sighed as the nurse closed the door behind her and then turned to address her students. "Okay class, this would be a good time for me to lecture you all about the dangers of ballet and what to watch out for in order to keep yourselves from injury."

Although this lecture would have been good for Ahiru to know, considering her clumsy nature, she couldn't help but ignore it. At the moment, all she could think about was Rue and Mytho and how his eyes had flashed red just before the incident. Every now and then, she would sneak glances at Fakir, only to see that he was thinking just as hard as she was.

* * *

The day seemed to pass by so slowly, but eventually, class had ended and Ahiru and Fakir met up outside of the lesson room. Once Ahiru was sure that no one was around to hear them, Ahiru asked him worriedly, "Fakir, earlier, you saw it too, right?"

"You mean Mytho's eyes? It was only for a second, but, yes."

"Then, I wasn't imagining things...oh, Fakir, what are we going to do! At this rate..."

"It's just as Rue said. Until she, or any of us, can figure out what's wrong with Mytho or how to help him, all we can do is watch. If he begins to do anything suspicious then we'll be there to stop him." Ahiru nodded in agreement, but still couldn't help but frown.

"So um, are you going to go check on Mytho and Rue?" Fakir nodded. "Ah, okay, I'll go with you."

When the two arrived at the nurse's office, Rue was sound asleep in one of the beds, and the nurse was seated beside her. "Oh, hello. Do you need anything?"

"No, we're just here to check up on our friends." Just then, Fakir noticed that only one of the two beds in the nurse's room was occupied, and Mytho was no where to be seen. "Excuse me, where is the boy that was also brought here, Mytho."

"Oh, the boy with the white hair? He woke up shortly after he was brought here so after I inspected him for any injuries I made him wait here for a while to make sure he was alright. Nothing seemed to be wrong with him so I let him go."

As soon as the nurse had finished speaking, Fakir was out the door. Ahiru smiled apologetically at the nurse and said, "Sorry about that. We needed to uh, talk with him. Um, please tell Rue that we came!" Ahiru ran out the door and caught up to Fakir.

"You don't think Mytho is..." Fakir only shook his head. "There's no way to know for sure. But we shouldn't take any chances. Let's split up." Ahiru nodded and once they were out in the yard, they went in different directions. Fakir headed in the direction of the dormitory while Ahiru stayed and searched the school grounds. Ahiru ran from building to building, desperately searching for any sign of Mytho.

When she got to the library, she felt a malicious presence from inside. When she stepped inside, Ahiru knew that he had to be there somewhere. She could just feel it. As Ahiru searched the building, she noted that not a single soul was currently in the building. It was like it had been abandoned. Ahiru was about to give up when she began hearing voices coming from another room.

"Could it be?" Ahiru rushed towards the noise. She ran down a dark hallway and listened carefully to the silence. As she passed one door, she could hear a quiet, menacing laughter coming from within. "That has to be it." Carefully, she pressed her ear against the door and listened.

"What are _you_ laughing at?"

"You. Your pitiful heart is so full of such strong negative emotions. But, the most intense is...envy." _I know that voice. It has to be Mytho. But the other one...is that...Autor?_

_ "Excuse me?" _

_ "_Envy of the power that your cousin holds. The power that you so desperately wanted. Envy of Rue's love for me, and not you." Autor snorted at him.

"Oh I see now, you're just here to rub it all in my face now, aren't you?" Then, in a volume that Ahiru could just barely hear through the door, he added, "You all got your happy endings, now can't you just let me live in peace?"

"I can take all these hurtful emotions away you know."

"Oh really now?" Autor asked sarcastically.

"Yes. It's quite easy. I'll just relieve you of your pitiful heart." Suddenly, Ahiru heard a scream. _No!_ Before Ahiru knew what was happening, she felt a familiar sensation consume her body. It felt much like when she transformed from girl to duck, yet it was different, and Ahiru remembered it so well.

She burst through the door in a grand jeté. Inside, it was a cramped room, each wall was lined with books from top to bottom and at the opposite side, stood Mytho over an unconscious Autor on the floor. Mytho turned around, startled, when he saw the beautiful prima donna, Princess Tutu, standing behind him.

"Prince, it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"T-tutu..." For a moment, the Prince's eyes returned to their original color, but quickly reverted back to their evil red. With a grunt, he turned back to Autor and reached down towards his chest.

"Please! Stop this, Prince!" Princess Tutu folded her hands over her heart and then reached out to him. "These cruel acts, the true you doesn't want this. You know, deep inside, that these feelings are not your own. That is why you are fighting so hard against your raven's blood."

Mytho only sneered at her. "That's true, the _Prince_ doesn't want this. However, I do." He turned then, and all of a sudden, crow's feathers fluttered about him, and he was wearing the clothes that Ahiru had seen him in during her dream. Mytho drew his sword and raised it over his head.

"Prince! Stop!" Quickly, without thinking, she leaped in between Mytho and Autor. As his sword began to fall down on his target, Mytho seemed to falter and his blade stopped in mid-air, a few inches above Princess Tutu's head. Princess Tutu gasped as saw Mytho's eyes flicker from red to gold.

"Please," he begged. "Don't...don't hurt Tut-Ahiru." Suddenly, reluctantly though, he dropped his sword and collapsed, returning to his normal self. Princess Tutu was quick to catch him, but his weight was too much for her, so she laid him down gently on the floor, still cradling him. As she did this, she returned to being Ahiru and began to panic. Autor and Mytho were both unconscious and Ahiru had no idea what to do. So, she simply sat there and watched as Mytho grimaced in his sleep. "Oh, Mytho..." _Mytho, you're fighting really hard, aren't you..._

Ahiru sat in silence for a good long while. Since there was no one in the library when she came in, she decided to wait until Mytho woke up before she did anything, in case he woke up while she was gone. But, to Ahiru's relief, she soon heard the muffled creak of the library door opening.

"Mytho? Ahiru?" A voice called.

"Fakir!?" Ahiru called back. Shortly, the door opened and Fakir stepped in. "Ahiru! What-?"

Ahiru frowned. "Mytho...he tried to..." Then, Fakir noticed Autor's unconscious body lying behind Ahiru.

"He tried to take Autor's heart, didn't he?" Ahiru nodded. "So why didn't he?"

"Well, um," Ahiru brought her hand to the pendant at her neck. "It looks like this pendant also gives me the power to turn into Princess Tutu."

Fakir frowned. "The more that happens, the more I'm starting to suspect that Drosselmeyer is behind all of this." Ahiru cringed at the thought of Drosselmeyer attempting to throw the story into tragedy again. Suddenly, Fakir approached her and scooped Mytho up into his arms. "Fakir?"

"Go check up on Rue. I'll take Mytho to his room."

"But, what about Autor?"

"He'll be fine. He should wake up soon. With any luck, he won't remember what happened." Ahiru nodded and followed him out, but stopped to cast a concerned glance at Autor before closing the door behind her.

* * *

When Ahiru got to the nurse's room, Rue was just getting ready to leave. She seemed so relieved once she saw Ahiru come through the door. "Ahiru! Where's Mytho?"

"He's...okay now. Fakir is bringing him to his room." Rue became sober and said, "He tried to take someone's heart, didn't he?" Ahiru nodded. "Why...after we were all so happy...what should we do Ahiru?" Rue asked despairingly.

For a moment, Ahiru didn't know what to say, but, when she remembered that she had transformed into Princess Tutu not too long ago, she decided to think of what she would say. "Well, I think, right about now, Princess Tutu would say, 'This is a fight that is also being fought inside the Prince. So, all we can do right now, is believe in the Prince, believe that he can over come it. As the people who care about him, we must simply do all we can to help, even if it's just to believe.', or something like that."

Rue seemed astounded by Ahiru's sudden burst of wisdom but in the end, found herself chuckling. "You're right, Ahiru. Thank you." Ahiru beamed with pride that she was able to cheer her friend up and then held her hand out for her to take. "C'mon Rue. I'll walk with you back to the dormitory." Rue smiled slightly and took Ahiru's hand

When Rue and Ahiru reached the dormitory, the sun was already setting and Fakir was just leaving. "Well, Rue, we'll see you tomorrow!" Ahiru said as she waved goodbye. From there, Ahiru walked alongside Fakir back to their house.

* * *

Mytho sat at his window seat, staring idly up at the moonlit sky. "Hm, curse that Tutu...I wonder if that heart would have tasted good, a heart full of emotion..." Mytho stared at his faint reflection in the window, his red eyes staring back at him. "But, no matter. I suppose at the moment, any heart will do. However, these normal hearts are rather plain, and bland. I think I'd rather like to finally have a taste of a pure, untainted heart." Mytho chuckled quietly to himself as he licked his fingers of the small traces of blood on his hands.

* * *

Well, there's chapter 5 for you! Oooh, where did Mytho get the stuff from! Uh, well I hope you liked this chapter. Please feel free to review and comment. They're always appreciated. ^_^

Oh yes, and Merry Late Christmas to everyone! And a happy boxing day. For the next week, I'll be focusing more on my ISU so I probably won't get much written. So, if I don't get anything posted by New years, 'Happy New Years!' everyone!


	6. What to do

Don't have very much to say right now soooo....

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters.....gah, if only.

Oh yeah! Good news(?)! I found that song that always plays around Fakir and Ahiru! It's from Scheherazade: The story of prince kalandor. :D I can die happy now....er not really but, y'know.

* * *

The next day, when Ahiru and Fakir arrived to class, both Mytho and Rue were already waiting for them, just doing their stretches. When Ahiru saw them, it was as if nothing had happened. _I guess it really is just like what Rue said. He doesn't remember anything about yesterday. I wonder...if it's better for him not to know._

As class progressed, Ahiru did her best to focus. After all that was happening, she still wanted to try to stick with the rest of the class, unlike before. However, mid-lesson, she was startled out of her focus by a hushed squeal of delight from her friend, Lillie. "Oh, this year is turning out to be quite wonderful, isn't it! Our adorable little Ahiru transfers here, and now, _Prince _Mytho has come back to add on to all the other cute boys in our class. It's the perfect recipe for drama!" She squealed as she patted Ahiru's head suspiciously.

"Wait, other boys?" Before, Ahiru could have sworn that there were only two boys in the ballet class: Mytho and Fakir. Since she had returned, Ahiru hadn't even noticed that there were now a few other male dancers in the class. Perhaps she wasn't paying as much attention as she thought she was.

"You didn't notice Ahiru?" Pique asked, astounded. Ahiru could see why, now that she actually took the time to look. There were only about three other boys in the room, all new to her. They were actually quite handsome but something just wasn't right about them. They seemed way more out of it than Ahiru usually was, but Ahiru shrugged it off, after all, they were boys. "Oh, I know! Maybe it's because you're solely a Fakir girl!"

Ahiru almost quacked at that statement and began waving her arms about frantically. "N-no! I already told you! Fakir and I aren't like that!"

"Excuse me?" Ahiru froze. _Oops, that was too loud wasn't it. _Ahiru looked from side to side for her friends who, by now, had already high-tailed it. Instead, she saw a few snickering classmates, including Rue and Mytho, and an obviously annoyed Fakir who had his palm against his forehead. Ahiru blushed immensely and stared up apologetically at Miss Lorna. "Ahiru, perhaps the status of your relationship with Fakir is something that shouldn't be shared publicly with the class." Ahiru's face turned even redder and she felt as though her face might even stay that color. "But, of course, if you feel the need to make random outbursts during class, I suggest you get it out of your system _after_ class...while you're cleaning the lesson room."

Ahiru's blush finally began to fade and she hung her head in defeat. "Yes Miss Lorna."

And so, Ahiru stayed behind after class with a bucket and mop and she sighed as she began cleaning the rather large classroom. "Man, it looks like I still can't seem to keep away from cleaning duty..."

"Well, then, Ahiru, you gotta learn to keep your voice down! That's the whole point of gossip." Ahiru sighed with defeat. Her friends had so 'graciously' offered to stay behind with her after class, but now, Ahiru was thinking that it was either because they had nothing better to do, or because they simply wanted to kick her while she was down.

"No, no! Don't tell her that! If she learns, I might never be able to see her face turn tomato red again!" Lillie yelled dramatically. Ahiru paused her cleaning for a moment to pout at them. "M-my face wasn't _that_ red!"

"Oh, on the contrary, young maiden. Your face was as red as this beautiful rose!" Ahiru jumped, dropping her mop and quickly covered her mouth before she could 'quack'. That familiar voice behind her was like the sound of bloody murder to her and she was very reluctant to turn around to confirm her fear. But of course, standing behind her, holding out a single red rose, was none other than 'Prince' Femio. And, of course, he was accompanied by his trusty butler and bull.

"Forgive me for startling you, I am Femio. I am one who is fit to be called a prince as I love everyone, and is also loved by everyone." Panicked, Ahiru made a quick glance towards where her friends were sitting, only to realize that they had already fled the scene. "However, I'm afraid that I don't know your name, young maiden. Forgive me for not noticing your beauty sooner."

Ahiru smiled nervously and took the rose that he was still holding out. "Um, I'm Ahiru."

"Ahiru, what a beautiful name that is." Before Ahiru could do anything about it, Femio took her free hand and was beginning to lean down to kiss it when suddenly, the door burst open.

"Hurry, Fakir! Ahiru is in grave danger!" When Ahiru looked to the door with relief, she saw Fakir standing in the doorway, looking back to Ahiru's two friends who were, once again, retreating rapidly down the hall. With a slightly annoyed sigh, Fakir turned back to Ahiru and Femio and approached them. Before Femio could touch his lips to Ahiru's hand, Fakir had grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

"And who, exactly, are you?" Fakir asked, obviously finding this a waste of his time.

"I am Femio, one who is qualified to be a true prince as I love everyone, and is also loved by everyone." Femio eyed Fakir disdainfully. "And who might you be, treating such a lovely maiden so roughly?"

"Do I really need to introduce myself?" Fakir shook his head. "Anyways, just stay away from Ahiru." Although it was awkward having Fakir save her from this kind of situation, Ahiru let out a sigh of relief nonetheless. "Come on, we're going." Fakir pulled Ahiru along towards the door, and Ahiru followed without question.

"Wait! Could it be? Are you two...lovers?" Both Fakir and Ahiru instantly stopped in their tracks. However, compared to Fakir, who was just blushing, Ahiru was almost on the verge of choking on nothing. "That must be it!"

"No, it's not!" Fakir and Ahiru yelled in unison, both whirling around to find Femio with the back of his hand laying dramatically on his forehead.

"Oh! Curse this body of mine! To attract the love of one who is already devoted to another! How...despicable of me." Then, Fakir and Ahiru watched as Femio's butler crashed into him atop the bull and proceeded to lay out a bed of flower petals for Femio to fall on. However, when Femio opened his eyes, Fakir and Ahiru were already gone.

Just outside the building, Fakir and Ahiru stood leaning against the wall, catching their breath. Eventually, Ahiru straightened up and smiled gratefully at Fakir. "Thanks a lot Fakir! But how did you know where I was?"

"Tch, your friends told me you were in some sort of danger and I thought they were talking about Mytho or at least something _actually_ life threatening."

Ahiru giggled nervously and apologized. "Sorry about that. Pique and Lillie are just like that, y'know? Besides, I think to most of the girls in the academy, being face to face with Femio _is_ life threatening."

Fakir shook his head, but smiled slightly. "Come on, let's go home."

Ahiru smiled and began walking alongside him. "Oh yeah! Um...I'm sorry about earlier."

"Hm?"

"Y-you know." Ahiru blushed slightly. "During class, that outburst I had...I'm sorry if I embarrassed you or anything..." Fakir glanced down at her thoughtfully but then turned his head away.

"Moron." Ahiru pouted. "Hey! What was that-"

"Ahiru! Fakir!" Ahiru's pout disappeared and she looked out in front of her to see Rue rushing towards them.

"Rue! What's wrong?"

"It's Mytho. After class, I came out of the changing room and waited for him, but he didn't come out. I got worried so I checked the boys' change room and all over the academy. But I can't find him!"

"Calm down. We'll find him." Fakir looked around carefully, figuring out where to check first. "Maybe we should split up again..."

"No wait! Fakir, Rue, listen!" Rue and Fakir looked to Ahiru, slightly confused. "Do you hear that?" All of them stopped and focused on the faint sound from afar. It was a very quiet rumbling sound, like the sound of hooves hitting the ground, and in the distance they could hear disgruntled yelling.

"What is that?" Rue asked. Answering her question, Femio's butler rode past them on a bull yelling, "Don't worry Master Femio! Help is on its way!"

"Him again?" Fakir asked with disbelief.

"Yeah..." But then, Ahiru shook her head. "But did you hear what he said? Mytho might be with Femio!"

"Alright then. He's probably still in the lesson room." Quickly, they ran into the building and made their way towards the lesson room.

* * *

"_You_! You are that false prince, one who gives out false love! _Mytho..._" Femio uttered his name with disgust. Mytho could only chuckle at his ignorance.

"That's right. Although, if I am a false prince, who's to say that you're not either?"

Femio seemed taken aback by this claim and frowned. "And what makes you say that? I believe I truly am qualified to be called a prince. I love everyone, and am loved by everyone."

"You say you love everyone, and are loved by everyone, but what do you call this then? You can't seem to love me in the slightest, and I have nothing but hate for you. Not only that," Mytho smirked. "But what about that shameful act that you committed not too long ago? Stealing away a love that belongs to someone else?"

Femio fell to his knees, head in his hands. "You...you are right! Is it possible, that I too, am a false prince? Have I...been living a horrible lie!?" Suddenly, he threw his head back and clutched his chest. "This horrible soul of mine...these crimes that I have so unknowingly committed! No mundane punishment could possibly do justice! Oh...the shame..."

Mytho laughed, and summoned his sword, turning into the Prince of crows. "If no _mundane_ punishment will suit your crime, then why don't you just hand over your heart? Leave all that guilt and shame behind..."

Femio nodded regretfully. "Yes, that seems like a suitable punishment."

Mytho stepped towards him and poised his sword above Femio's heart. Just as he readied himself to thrust his sword, a gentle voice called out, "Prince! Please, stop this!" Mytho paused, and looked towards the door where Princess Tutu, Rue and Fakir were standing.

"Do not get in my way." Tutu danced towards Mytho en pointe.

"Please, Prince. By committing such an act as this, it will become unbearable, perhaps even unforgivable. Such a burden...is something that I...no, we, would not allow you to place upon yourself." Mytho seemed to hesitate for a moment as Tutu danced around him, and lowered his sword. Princess Tutu stopped just behind him, hopeful that he had returned to his true self. But then he chuckled.

"You're already a little too late to say such things. I wonder if the Prince can bear it, all by himself? Who can forgive it?" Still chuckling, Mytho turned, swinging his sword in Tutu's direction.

"Ahiru!" Fakir had already anticipated the attack and was ready to tackle her down to avoid the blow. "Fakir!" Tutu gasped.

"My Prince." Both Tutu and Fakir looked up from their spot on the floor and watched as Rue stepped forward, stepping toward Mytho in demi pointe. "Prince, I would forgive you. After all we've been through, nothing is completely unforgivable." When she had finally reached her prince, she reached out to him and asked, "Please, my prince, dance with me?"

Mytho stared at her for a few moments and she almost thought that he would take her hand. However, he suddenly yanked his hand back and placed it back on his sword. "Foolish _Kraehe_, what would make you think I would want to dance with such a pitiful girl like you?"

Rue gasped as he lifted his sword and fell backwards. "Rue!" Tutu called out. Mytho was just about to bring his sword down when suddenly, they all felt the room begin to rumble. They also noticed that Femio had begun to come out of his stupor.

"Could it be?" He stood up slowly and turned towards the door with open arms. "It is! Oh punishment! Come now, and strike me down!"

"Ole!" Out of no where, Femio's butler rode through the lesson room, a herd of bulls trailing behind him. He headed straight for Femio, and quickly, everyone hurried to the sides of the room to dodge the stampede and once Femio had been hit by the full force of the stampede, they all seemed to empty out of the building, save for the one owned by Femio's butler. After bowing curtly to everyone in the room, and eyeing Mytho suspiciously, he threw Femio onto the back of the bull and hurried out, leaving them all to their business. Despite the situation, Tutu couldn't help but think, _This seems very familiar._

Tutu and Fakir got up, and looked to Rue, who was also unharmed and already picking herself up from the floor. However, on the other side of the room was Mytho, who laid unconscious on the floor. Rue immediately rushed over to him, followed by Fakir and Tutu, who had already changed back into Ahiru. "Can...my love not even reach him anymore?" Ahiru stared down at Rue with a worried frown. "Rue..."

Suddenly, Rue got up. "I'm sorry, but, can I ask the two of you to take Mytho back to his dorm?" With that, Rue began walking out of the lesson room.

"But, Rue!"

"Stop it, moron." Ahiru had made to go after her but she felt Fakir's hand on her shoulder. "But, Fakir! She-"

"She just needs to be alone for a while, that's all. She'll be fine." Ahiru frowned but nodded her head in defeat. "Now come on." Fakir bent down and scooped Mytho up into his arms. "Let's get Mytho back to his room."

"Okay..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Rue had found herself wandering towards the library. Once she found herself standing in front of its doors she felt determination rising in her. _If...if Mytho will not be phased by love anymore...than I must find another way. Quickly. Before he changes beyond recognition._

Rue stepped into the empty library and began strolling down the aisles of books until her foot stumbled into an average sized book lying on the floor. Rue bent down to pick it up and suddenly, she became interested. On the front cover was the picture of a large raven. _Foolish daughter......pitiful Kraehe...._

Rue's eyes scanned the front cover, looking for the name of the book, but all she found were words that she couldn't understand. The letters looked familiar, but they formed words that seemed like nonsense. So, she opened the book and began to read, but she found that the contents were also written in the weird language.

"That book you're reading, it's in English you know." Rue gasped and turned to the voice. It was Autor. "That's why you can't read it."

"You...you're Autor, right?"

He pushed up his glasses. "Forgotten me already?"

"I had a reason to forget...you should have forgotten as well, just like everyone else." Autor shook his head. "I could never forget you..."

Autor came up beside her and gently took the book from her. "My English is a bit rusty, but I think it says, 'North American....Mythology: Ravens'."

"Raven...Autor, I'm sorry, but, do you think you could read this to me?"

He blushed slightly, but hid it behind the glare on his glasses. "Um, sure, but why do you want to read a book on ravens?" He came to a sudden realization. "Does that mean? Is it a new story?"

"Yes...but I'm not quite sure yet whether or not it deals with the Monster Raven."

"I see...well, come over here. I'll read a little, since I'm not too busy." Rue nodded and smiled gratefully, following Autor to a desk at the back of the library.

* * *

Sorry, that ended in a weird place, didn't it? Oh well. Ah, and about Rue not being able to read English, yeah, I wanted to make use of the fact that Princess Tutu is actually set in Germany. Or at least, it's very much hinted at. *cough*Schmied*cough* *Fakir's german(?) writing and incantation in episode 8*cough* Also, I just thought, being the book worm he is, Autor would know a bit of English.

Just so you know! Please review!


	7. The Raven

Hey, me again! Hope you like this chapter! Yeah, the whole Native American Mythology, I **did** actually research it...okay I wikipedia'd it so that doesn't exactly...count. -.- But the last story read from that book, well, I have an idea for it but I just hope that it makes sense later as many of the stories told by the story teller in each of the Princess Tutu episodes has a slight twist in the episode itself.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters. They all belong to Ikuko Itoh.**

Enjoy!

* * *

"This story is called...The...Raven creates the...world." Autor began. Rue listened intently beside him, but couldn't help but snort at the title of the story. "Long ago...before humans lived in this world...the raven lived in the bird land...sorry, spirit land." Autor cleared his throat after correcting his mistake and began reading again.

"Autor, don't be nervous. Just read it as best you can. Any information can help right now." Autor nodded and looked down at the page.

"One day, the raven became bored with the spirit land, and flew away, carrying a stone in his beak. When the raven got tired...and dropped the stone, it fell into the ocean and...expanded? It expanded until it formed the land that we humans live on. Eventually, the raven became bored once again, and freed some creatures trapped in a clam. These creatures were the first men of the world. But, soon, the raven became bored with them too, and thought to return the creatures back to their clam. However, instead, he found another clam, but this time, it was full of female creatures. He became entertained with the two creatures as they began to interact with each other, and so was the beginning of mankind's life on the land we live in now."

Rue closed her eyes in thought for a moment. "I'm sorry, do you mind reading a few more stories? This one doesn't seem to help at all."

"...okay." Adjusting his glasses, Autor flipped the page and took a quick glance at the title before beginning. "This one is called...The Raven steals the sun."

"Long ago, near the beginning of the world, the Gray Eagle was the guardian of the sun, moon, stars, fresh water and fire. The Gray Eagle hated people so much, that he kept all these things hidden from them. The Gray Eagle had a daughter, and the Raven fell in love with her. At the time, the Raven was a snow-white bird, and so, he pleased her, and was invited to their longhouse. When the Raven saw the sun, moon, stars and fresh water hanging outside the longhouse, he decided to steal them, and a brand of fire as well. As soon as the Raven got outside, he hung the sun in the sky and it made so much light, that he was able to fly away to a far away island in the middle of the ocean. When the sun had set, he hung up the moon and placed the stars all around. With all the light it made, he was able to keep flying, and once he got to a certain spot on the land, he dropped all the fresh water and thus, created all the fresh water lakes and rivers in the world. Then, he flew on with the fire brand in his beak. However, the smoke from the fire began to turn the Raven's feathers black and began to burn his beak. So, he dropped it, and the fire brand fell in between rocks below, hiding itself there. That is why, when two rocks are struck together, sparks fly out. This, is also how the Raven came to be a black bird."

"The ravens in these stories are all quite the tricksters, aren't they?" Autor nodded. "Well, in some cultures, Raven's are seen as tricksters and mischievous beings."

"I see..." Rue looked out the window and saw that it was just beginning to get dark out and she got up from her seat. Closing the book and gently taking it from Autor she asked, "Autor, tomorrow, do you mind reading me the rest of this?"

Autor nodded and stood as well. "Of course."

"But...do you mind if we do it during the day? While classes are in session?" Rue asked. If she did her research while Mytho was in class, and then stayed with him for the rest of the day, she could almost be sure that he wouldn't be able to do anything.

Autor blushed and was surprised. "W-what? Are you asking me to...skip classes?" _And be with you while everyone else is in class..._

"I'm sorry if it's too much to ask but, I need to figure things out as soon as possible and I...don't know how to explain it but I feel like this book might hold the answer." Autor nodded.

"Alright then...I'll see you tomorrow." Autor led Rue to the door and followed her out, closing the door behind them.

* * *

The next day, Ahiru felt worried. Classes had already started and Rue was no where to be seen. Mytho was there but seemed equally as concerned. "Fakir, Ahiru, have you seen Rue yet? I didn't see her this morning. I'm a bit worried." Ahiru looked at Fakir, but he just shook his head. _Rue..._

"Ah, Mytho." The three of them turned to see Miss Lorna. She had a concerned look on her face. "If you don't mind me butting into your business, I've been hearing quite a few rumors lately."

"Rumors?" She nodded. "You see, some students have been reporting for the past few days that you've been here, that they've seen you after school, unconscious and being carried back to your dorm by your friend Fakir."

"What?" Ahiru stiffened, as if she had been caught in the middle of a childish act. _That's right! Mytho has no memory of the things he's done. Oh no, what will he say when he figures out that we've been hiding something from him! _"I'm sorry Miss Lorna, I have no memory of that."

"Well, I think that I can vouch for the truth as I too saw it just yesterday. You were being carried from the lesson room." Mytho glanced suspiciously at Fakir. _Fakir, what are you hiding from me..._

"After what happened on your first day back, I'm worried about you Mytho. If everyone else is correct, that's three times in a row that you've feinted, which obviously is a bad sign. That's why I'm sending you back to your dorm to rest. If you continue dancing with the high risk of feinting again, you might end up hurting yourself again, or maybe even someone else."

"No, Miss Lorna, I'm fine."

"No, Mytho, as your teacher, I can't in good conscience let you stay and dance in your condition. So, go back to your room and get some rest." Mytho frowned and sighed, then proceeded to exit the class. "Oh, that's right, Andre, would you mind escorting Mytho to his room?"

"Okay..." The blonde haired boy responded in a monotone. To Ahiru, at first glance, the boy seemed like someone who would be full of energy, but for some reason he seemed....dead. However, at the moment, that was the least of Ahiru's worries.

"Miss Lorna?" Miss Lorna turned around to Fakir. "Is it okay if I escort Mytho instead?"

"Hm, may I ask why?"

"Mytho's one of my closest friends, and I'd rather make sure he's alright with my own two eyes."

"I both admire and understand your concern, Fakir, but I assure you, he'll be alright." Fakir nodded in defeat and turned back to Ahiru. _Damn it._

"Oh, Fakir, what are we going to do!? What happens if...if...if Mytho...."

"I don't know." Fakir said with a growl. Ahiru stared at Fakir, waiting for him to hatch a plan to check up on Mytho but it seemed that even he had no idea what to do right now. It looked like, once again, the two of them would just have to wait. As Ahiru moved to the other side of the room with her friends, she barely payed attention to the conversation that the two were having due to the fact that most of Ahiru's attention was either at the door, waiting for the student to come back, or at Fakir, in case he had come up with a plan.

However, when the student finally returned, with not a single scratch on him, Ahiru let out a sigh of relief. "Mytho...thank goodness."

* * *

".....When the Great Spirit created everything, he kept them all separate and stored in cedar boxes. The Great Spirit gave these boxes to the animals that existed before humans. When the animals opened the boxes, everything that comprised the world came into being. The boxes held such things as mountains, fire, water, wind and seeds for all the plants. One such box, which was given to Seagull, contained all the light of the world. The Seagull refused to open his box and so everyone asked the Raven to persuade the Seagull into opening it. No matter what the Raven did, the Seagull still wouldn't open the box and soon, the Raven became frustrated and stuck a thorn in the Seagull's foot. The Raven pushed the thorn in deeper until the Seagull finally dropped the box. Out of the box, came the sun, moon and stars that brought light to the world, and allowed the first day to begin."

"All of these myths...they're all about the Raven somehow bringing the world into existence." Rue said with disbelief.

"Yes, I suppose it would be quite hard to believe when compared to something like the Monster Raven. However, it is highly likely that the Monster Raven and the raven in these stories are two different beings."

"I guess."

Autor stared at Rue for a moment, feeling a bit sad for her as none of this was helping, but when Autor read the title of the next story, he said, "This story could be the one you're looking for."

"Hm?" Rue leaned over to look into the book, although she couldn't read a single word of the text. "It's called, 'The Regretful Chief and the Origin of Death'."

Autor cleared his throat and began to read, "Long ago, there was a village, led by Chief Raven. The people tried to persuade the Chief to allow everyone two lives. But Chief Raven selfishly wanted to have one life for all people and animals. This was because he liked to eat the eyes of dead carrion. And so, since Raven was Chief, his decision was accepted. However, the people weren't happy with his decision, and decided to make the Chief regret it. Chief Raven's son was killed in a target practice accident and his daughter was struck by a felled tree. Because of this, Raven tried desperately to reverse his decision so that everyone could have two lives, however, the people kept reminding him, 'You are the chief, and you have already spoken.'."

"Hmm..." _Two lives, huh? I wonder... _"Could it be possible...perhaps the Raven..." Rue got up suddenly and gave Autor a quick hug and ran off. "Thank you, Autor!"

Rue ran straight to the ballet lesson room from the library, and to her convenience, class was just ending and Ahiru and Fakir had joined up to leave. "Rue! Where were you?" Ahiru asked.

"I was at the library with Autor. I found a book and I think I might have discovered something."

"Good...but it might have to wait."

"What? Why?" Rue demanded.

"Um, well you see, Miss Lorna sent Mytho back to his dorm during class, and we weren't able to go check on him at all. That's why me and Fakir were planning to go out and look for him."

"What!? You mean he's by himself?" Rue grumbled to herself and ran away from them.

"Rue wait!" Ahiru ran after her immediately and Fakir began to chase after her.

"Gah, Ahiru!" Fakir and Ahiru pursued Rue out of the building and out onto the school grounds where Ahiru stopped suddenly, almost causing Fakir to bump into her. "Moron, don't stop so suddenly."

"Wait, Fakir, listen." Fakir raised an eyebrow in question but obeyed. After listening to what seemed like nothing, Fakir became impatient and asked, "What is it, Ahiru? I don't hear anything."

"Right! Isn't that weird though? Y'know, especially for this time of day? Usually, after classes end, there's a lot of students who stay behind on the school grounds and it's always so cheery and you can hear people talking everywhere. But...why is it that suddenly, I see everyone, but everywhere I look it seems...."

"Dead..." Fakir whispered, finally noticing it. "I think you're right, and it could be important, but right now, our highest priority is finding Mytho."

"Y-yeah, I guess." Ahiru said uneasily, her gaze lingering on the dreary school grounds before rushing off to follow Fakir. They pursued Rue into the boys' dormitory building and it seemed that she was heading towards Mytho's room. As they neared Mytho's room, Rue accidentally bumped into another student, yet didn't even stop to check if he was alright. Ahiru pouted disapprovingly and hurried to the boy's side and helped him up.

"Ah, we're really sorry! She's not usually like that, we're just really in a hurry." As she took his hand to help the boy up, he looked up at her apathetically and Ahiru gasped at the unfocused eyes staring back at her.

"It's okay..." the boy answered in a monotone. Ahiru stepped away from the boy in fright as he walked away as if nothing had happened. _His...eyes...they were just like the Prince's eyes, back when he was heartless. _Suddenly then, Ahiru remembered seeing the three other boys in her ballet class. At the time, she had failed to notice their lifeless eyes, but even so, she could see it in their attitude; something wasn't right. But at the stunning realization, that perhaps the reason for that was because they had lost their hearts, Ahiru quacked and put a hand over her mouth. Before she could turn into a duck, Ahiru quickly ran after Fakir and Rue. Fortunately, they had already reached Mytho's room and had opened the door, which Ahiru dived through just as she found herself disappearing into her clothes. As she dug herself out from under her uniform, she heard Fakir sigh behind her and quickly began flopping around in front of him, trying to convey her discovery.

"Wait, Ahiru calm down. Your quacks are beginning to blur together."

"Mytho..." Both Ahiru and Fakir turned to Rue, and then towards the single bed. In it, lay Mytho, sleeping peacefully. Rue walked over to his bedside and sat down on the edge, brushing a lock of his white hair away from his face. "Mytho...?"

Slowly, Mytho awoke after hearing Rue's voice and smiled weakly at her. "Rue? Where were you today?"

"There was an errand that I had to run. I'm sorry if I worried you, my Prince."

"No, it's alright, but please, say something next time." Mytho shuddered slightly and Rue frowned. "Prince, what did you do today? You look horrible."

"I think I'm just sick. Miss Lorna sent me back here during class, so I've been here all day...which reminds me..." Mytho sat up and cast an accusing glance in Fakir's direction. "Fakir, what exactly are you hiding from me? What happened to me the past few days that have caused me to feint, and forget everything that happened? I...I have no memory of that."

Ahiru gulped and then looked up at Fakir. Rue also looked to him, and nodded. "Alright, Mytho, we'll tell you...but Ahiru, you should turn yourself back into a girl. This is something that the three of us have to explain together." Ahiru nodded and looked around for water.

"Ah, look in the vase on the table there. I think I replaced the water this morning." Mytho said, pointing to the table in the middle of the room. Fakir gathered Ahiru's clothes and placed them on the table while placing the vase on the floor where Ahiru could reach it. Ahiru waited until Fakir had turned his back and Mytho had closed his eyes before knocking the vase over and quickly changing back into her uniform. From there, the three of them began to tell Mytho the real reason why Rue had brought him back to Kinkan as well as the reason for the feinting spells that he couldn't seem to remember. By the end, Mytho had a slight look of disgust on his face.

"Why? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't want to worry you, Prince." Rue said. "I thought that once you knew..." She shook her head. Mytho put a comforting arm around her shoulder and told her, "Rue, it's alright. But I wish you would have told me sooner. I feel pathetic, not being aware of the crimes that I've committed to my own people." Mytho looked down at his chest and gently touched his fingertips to his heart. "Then again, it may even be my fault for not paying closer attention to the waning darkness still in my heart."

"It's not your fault, Mytho. But, now that you're aware, do you know anything about the ulterior motives of your other self? I highly doubt that the only goal of 'the prince of crows', is to simply quench its hunger."

"Actually, I have a theory about that." Rue interrupted. "While I was at the library, I came across a book called, _North American Mythology: Ravens._ It was in english so I had Autor read it to me, so I'm not entirely sure his translation is accurate, but, there was a myth in particular that sparked my theory. It was about a Raven chief who had decided that all people and animals should only have one life. However, the people thought that all things should have two lives, and decided to make the chief regret his decision. They killed the chief's children and made them seem like accidents, and the chief tried to revoke his decision and make everyone have two lives. But, of course, the people reminded him that he was chief, and he had spoken."

"So?"

"Well, I thought back on how we all had fates seemingly set in stone, yet we all somehow managed to change our fates. I thought that, since the blood that still runs through Mytho's veins is the blood of the Monster Raven, the Raven is manifesting itself within him....that explains..." _Why the last time we saw each other, Mytho called me pitiful Kraehe...foolish girl. _"Perhaps, in order to rebel from his fate, he's trying to use Mytho in order to gain a second life. "

"Yes, that makes sense. But that still doesn't explain a lot of things." Fakir crossed his arms, frustrated. "Does that mean he's just trying to take over Mytho's body entirely? Or is he aiming for something else?"

"If that is what he is planning, then I won't let him. I swear it." Mytho said indignantly. However, Rue shook her head. "That would be helpful, my Prince, but I doubt that the Raven's ultimate goal is to take over your body. Ever since I've known him, he had always called me, 'the daughter of a noble raven, trapped within an ugly, wretched human body.' The Raven would rather eat out his own heart than spend the rest of his life within a human body. He must be planning to resurrect his body somehow."

Suddenly, everyone in the room fell silent, brainstorming ideas as to how the raven planned to carry out his plan, and Ahiru could see that they were going no where fast on that note. So, timidly, she spoke up, "Um, I don't know if this helps at all, but..." Everyone turned their attention to Ahiru and she continued. "Back in the hallway, when we were on our way here, and Rue bumped into that boy, I stopped to help him up. When he looked at me, though, his eyes...they were emotionless, even the way he spoke to me; they were both like Mytho when his heart was incomplete. That's when I remembered the boys in our ballet class. I noticed that they were the same too. So I thought, what if they were heartless too?"

"Could it be...from the Raven eating out their hearts?" Rue thought.

"No, that would be impossible." Mytho said. "If their hearts were taken out by something other than my sword, they would die."

"Wait, whenever we found Mytho trying to take out other people's hearts, was he wielding the Prince's sword?" Fakir wondered.

"If he was, then that would explain it!"

"So, does that mean that even if the Raven eats people's hearts, we can still return them somehow?" Ahiru asked brightly. Despite her hopefulness, they all found that possibility hard to believe.

"We...can't exactly know for sure whether or not we'll be able to return everyone's hearts. If the Raven really has been eating them..." Mytho trailed off. It pained him to tell poor Ahiru that it could be impossible to return everyone back to normal, unlike last time. Slowly, Ahiru's hopeful smile melted into a despairing frown and she whispered, "So those people...might live the rest of their lives...without their emotions? Without their hearts?" Ahiru began quivering and she looked down at the ground, hoping to somehow hide the tears that were coming.

"Ahiru..."

"I'm sorry!" Suddenly, Ahiru turned around and bolted out of the room. "Hey, Ahiru!" Fakir ran to the door, but when he looked down the hall, Ahiru was already out of sight.

As Ahiru ran away to Fakir and Charon's house, she wiped away her tears with her sleeve, but in vain. _There...There must be something that we can do! Those boys...not being able to feel anything forever! Isn't there anything I can do? _

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Phew! I finally finished this chapter! Almost 4000 words! _ Man, if I could write that much in one day, that would have helped a lot back in november during NaNoWriMo :D Oh well. Hope you like this chapter! Please review and comment! Yeees, comments are very welcome. And happy late new year everyone!


	8. Doubt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters...-.- sadly.**

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The next morning, Fakir found himself standing outside of Ahiru's room for no reason. Already dressed in his uniform, he could have easily just went on without her, but for some reason, he felt the need to wait. He groaned. _Ugh, what am I doing? _Reluctantly, he lifted a hand to the door and knocked. "Ahiru?" There was no answer. "Look, Mytho said that we can't know for sure yet whether or not those people will remain heartless. That means there might be a way to return them to normal." Fakir waited a few moments for a response and then sighed. "Okay, at the very least, can you get out of bed and get ready for school? We're going to be late." Fakir waited, and listened for a noise of any kind, but when nothing came, he knocked one more time. "Ahiru? I'm coming in."

Fakir opened the door only to find an empty room. The bed had already been made and Ahiru's nightgown was neatly folded on top of her pillow. "Fakir?" Fakir turned around. Charon was climbing up the stairs and tying on the apron he usually wore at his shop. "Are you looking for Ahiru?"

"Yeah, where is she?"

"Oh, she left early today. I had breakfast with her but she seemed a little subdued. Did something happen?" Fakir almost felt like smacking himself in the head. He had just spent about five useless minutes talking to an empty room.

"Thanks Charon." Fakir said as he walked past Charon and down the stairs. He made his way to school with a scowl, but for some reason, he felt eager to get to school. _I'm probably just eager to get there so I can make sure that she's actually there, and not stuck in some trouble because of her depression. _

When he walked into the lesson room, he nearly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that she was quietly doing her stretches with her friends. Of course, when he walked past her, he shot her an annoyed glare. However, instead of the pout that Ahiru would normally give him in response, she simply ignored it. Her mind was obviously still focused on the victims of the Raven. As class began, and Miss Lorna began her lecture, Fakir snuck glances at Ahiru every now and then and frowned with worry.

Although the class had begun, Ahiru's mind was elsewhere. She was too busy thinking of ways that she could return the people's hearts to them, and despairing at the thought that it might not even be possible. Soon enough, though, Ahiru was brought out of her thoughts by a hand waving back and forth in front of her face. "Huh, what?"

"Oh, how adorable!" Lillie squealed. "She's even more out of it than usual!"

"She's right, Ahiru. If I didn't know any better, you were just like one of those mindless zombies out there."

"Z-zombies? There's zombies in kinkan?" Suddenly, Ahiru felt Lillie's famous death grip around her neck and all the air in her lungs being squeezed out. She gasped for air and tugged on her friend's arms until she finally let go. "Oh, silly Ahiru! Such a fraidy-cat!"

Pique shook her head with an exasperated sigh and placed a hand on Ahiru's shoulder to calm her down. "I'm just kidding, Ahiru. There's not _really_ zombies in Kinkan town. That's just what everybody calls them."

"Huh? Call who?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, Ahiru?"

"Noticed what?"Ahiru blinked as Pique poked her forehead. "Geez, Ahiru, you're more out of it than we thought. You better watch out or you might end up like them."

"End up like who!?" Ahiru whispered impatiently.

Pique sighed. "Well, you must have noticed that recently, it's been pretty quiet on the school grounds, right?" Ahiru nodded, urging Pique to continue. "That's because a lot of the students in the academy have been acting really weird. All the students who haven't been affected by it are calling it 'zombie sickness' because if you look into the eyes of someone who is affected by it, they'll look blank, and if you talk to them, there's no emotion in their voice. Even the way they walk and act, it's like they're zombies."

"But you know, I've been hearing that the zombie sickness is even spreading throughout all of Kinkan Town." Lillie added gravely. But, in a sudden change of mood, a scary aura seemed to surround her and she loomed over Ahiru. "Isn't that just creeeepy?" Despite her friend's taunts, Ahiru simply stared ahead at nothing in particular, both shocked and terrified by this news. _It...has to be...that must be what they're talking about! But...does that mean that Mytho has already taken out the hearts of that many people!? And...what if there's no way to restore them? Will they just stay like that forever!? _Even when Lillie started shaking her back and forth violently, Ahiru barely payed any attention.

"Oh no! Poor Ahiru is already being infected by the zombie sickness as we speak!"

"N-no...I'm fine...really." Ahiru said halfheartedly. Pique frowned at the blonde haired girl beside her and said, "Look what you've done. I think you really scared her this time." Then, Pique shifted her gaze to Ahiru and shook her gently. "Hey, c'mon, snap out of it Ahiru. It'll all be fine. I'm sure this whole zombie sickness thing will all blow over before you know it."

"Y-yeah..." Even though her friends tried to reassure her throughout the entire class that things would be all right, Ahiru couldn't stop trembling. She managed to hide it on the outside so as not to worry her friends even more, but it was still there on the inside. She also felt cold and anxious, scared and weak, and once the teacher had dismissed everyone from class, she quickly got changed and ran out of the change room, hoping to get away to somewhere where she could be alone with her thoughts. However, as she tried to make her escape, she nearly bumped right into Fakir. Luckily, though, she had managed to swerve around him and head towards the exit of the building.

"Ahiru?" _Don't tell me she's still depressed about that. That idiot..._ "Hey!" Fakir ran down the hall and out the door after her. Rue and Mytho who were just about to leave as well, looked on in wonder.

"Ahiru? Fakir? Did something happen?" Rue stepped forward, planning to go check up on Ahiru, but was stopped when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Rue, I don't think it's serious."

"Prince! How can you say that? You saw her yesterday, didn't you? And even during class too. She looked horrible..."

"Of course I noticed, but, for some reason, I believe that perhaps only Fakir truly knows how to cheer her up." Rue stared in awe of her Prince's words, but after giving the hall a final glance, she nodded and wrapped her arm around his.

"I hope you're right, my Prince. Besides, I think we have some work to do." Mytho tilted his head slightly, not quite catching on. "We need to figure out how to get rid of the Monster Raven's blood, before things get more out of hand than they already are." Mytho nodded in agreement and followed Rue to the library.

Along the shore of a small, crystal clear pond, Ahiru appeared out of the bushes with a slight stumble. Once she had stabled herself, she dragged her feet hopelessly to the edge of the water and knelt down, staring at her reflection in the water. Quietly, she sat by the water's edge alone, her occasional sniffling the only thing disturbing the calm silence. _Oh, what am I going to do...Isn't there anything...?_

Suddenly, Ahiru heard the bushes behind her rustling and whirled around. Making their way out from the bushes was none other than Fakir. Once he was in clear sight, he simply stared at her for a few moments until Ahiru finally pouted at him and turned back to the water. He sighed as he saw her raise her arm to wipe away her tears.

"Why are you here?" Ahiru asked weakly.

"I'm here because of you, Moron." This made Ahiru turn around to shoot a glare in his direction, but Fakir barely even flinched at her weak attempt. He walked over and sat down beside her, staring out onto the lake. "When you suddenly ran out from Mytho's room yesterday, you had all of us worried. Then you come to class even more depressed..." Fakir scolded her harshly, but then, he softened up slightly and asked more gently, "What's wrong with you?"

Ahiru flinched. She knew. She knew that her attitude would worry everyone, but she just couldn't hide it. Ahiru wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them closer to her chest, nearly hiding her face behind her knees. "Fakir...is what we're doing...pointless? Hopeless?"

"What?" Fakir began to bristle with annoyance. Standing up and towering over Ahiru, he hissed, "Don't tell me that that's what you've been depressed about? Ahiru! You of all people should know that this isn't pointless! Does helping the people of Kinkan _and_ Mytho not mean anything to you anymore?"

Ahiru came out of her ball and jumped to her feet to defend herself. "No! Of course helping everyone is important to me! It's just that..." Ahiru looked down at the ground. "Are you sure...we aren't too late already? Are you sure that we can even really do anything?" Ahiru asked shakily.

"What? How can you-"

"You know yesterday, when you and me were chasing after Rue? And then I told you about how quiet it was at the academy?" Fakir nodded slowly. "Well, it turns out...that it's because a lot of the students at the academy have already...t-they already lost their hearts!" Ahiru ended with a squeak. Suddenly, she began trembling, only slightly and her hands balled into fists. "Pique and Lillie told me about it...they said that a lot of people in the academy had blank eyes and looked emotionless, and that...and that even people outside of the academy are starting to become like that!"

Then, Ahiru finally lifted her head and her eyes were brimming with tears and screamed of hopelessness. "Mytho said that it might not be possible to rescue their hearts from the raven!" Ahiru clutched at the pendant around her neck. "So what's the point of having this power if I can't even help anyone!? And even if we do defeat the Raven again, everyone might stay this way, forever! They'll just go on living....without hearts or emotions..." Ahiru fell back down on her knees and turned her head down. "I'm just plain useless." Ahiru whispered.

Fakir stared at Ahiru with sympathy in his eyes. He knelt down in front of her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Ahiru..." Ahiru looked as if she hadn't heard him and let her tears stream down her face and Fakir simply let her for a few moments before quietly saying, "Didn't we say that we would do whatever we could to help the Prince? That we would never let the story fall into tragedy just because Drosselmeyer willed it?" At this, Ahiru quieted her small sobs as best she could and lifted her head to look at Fakir. "Even though those are vows that we had made back when the story was in motion, I think they are something that applies even now, when the story is over. Although the fact that the townspeople may not regain their hearts is indeed a possibility, we still have to do all that we can to end this and keep the rest of the townspeople from becoming victims as well."

Ahiru felt a considerable boost of confidence in herself after Fakir's comforting words. She had a duty to fulfill, another role in a new story, and her role was to once again keep the story from tragedy. But despite that, she still couldn't shake her sorrow. "I know...but, what about the people who are already victims? Will we have to just leave them as they are? I...don't think I could...."

"Of course not, Moron. Even if what Mytho says is true, we can't give up. We can keep searching for a way to return their hearts, besides, I don't think Mytho would be able to simply leave his people in that condition either." Ahiru nodded with a small smile and wiped away her tears with her sleeve. Fakir stood and offered his hand to her. "Now come on. We're going home."

"But, what about Rue and Mytho? I think I should probably apologize, huh?" Ahiru said, taking Fakir's hand and pulling herself up. However, Fakir shook his head. "Yeah, you should. But tomorrow. I don't know where they are right now so it might be easier if you apologize tomorrow morning when you see them." Ahiru nodded and began walking alongside Fakir back to the house. Once they were about half of the way there, Ahiru turned her head to the boy beside her.

"Fakir?" Fakir looked at her and simply said, "Hm?"

Ahiru flashed him a bright smile. "Thank you." Fakir blushed slightly and looked away, rolling his eyes, in an attempt to cover it. "Moron." From there, the two said not a single word for the rest of the way home, and walked along in a comforting silence.

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After dinner, Fakir had gone to sleep early but Ahiru still felt a bit troubled. The melancholy feeling in the pit of her stomach had eased because of Fakir, but was undeniably there and kept Ahiru from falling asleep. So, instead, she sat by her window and stared up at the stars. She sighed. "Fakir is right, no matter how bad things seem, we can't just give up! Once we give up...that's when things are really hopeless. And with Mytho and Rue on our side this time, I'm sure we'll find a way to return everyone to normal too!" Despite saying this, Ahiru slumped against the wall. "So why do I still feel worried?" Ahiru shook her head in dismay and glanced out the window again. She sat up and squinted to see more clearly out the window. Standing in front of Fakir's house on the road, simply staring at the door, was Mytho.

"What's Mytho doing out this late? Ah! And he's alone...what if he's out here to..." Ahiru didn't even want to finish that thought. But when Mytho began walking away, Ahiru gasped quietly. "Should I follow him? But...it could be dangerous, especially if the Raven's controlling him right now. But if I don't follow him...he might take more hearts. Oh, I know!" Ahiru got up from the window seat and hurriedly made her way across the hall to Fakir's room. She opened the door and peered inside to Fakir's sleeping figure on the bed. Even though they were closed, his eyes looked tired and grateful for the sleep. Ahiru bit her lip. _Oh, I can't wake up Fakir! He's looks so tired...all right then. I'll go by myself! Besides! _Ahiru reached up to her pendent as she closed Fakir's door. _Princess Tutu...you said you would help bear these challenges with me, right? Please...help me. _

With one final comforting squeeze on her pendent, she ran out of the house after Mytho, not caring that she was without shoes or still in her night gown.

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Well that's all for now! Took me a while, huh? Sorry 'bout that. ^_^; School has started and first semester final exams are starting at the end of the month so I'm in a rut. -.- Oh well, I'll try and write-er, type I guess?- whenever I can. I'm eager to finish this so I can start focusing on either drawings for deviantart or other stories. :D

Please comment and review! And also, many thanks to all the people who have commented on this story, 'specially BlueForestAngelCat, Moon Shadow Magic, and lloyd-forever!


	9. Give me your heart!

**I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters. **

Y'know? I was looking at the word count for this story a few days ago, and boy was I surprised! It's at around 20, 000 words already! That's a lot for only 9 chapters ^_^; Did I go a bit over board? What do you think?

In any case, please review and I hope you enjoy!

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_Mytho, where are you? Where are you going? _Ahiru followed intently after Mytho but soon lost track of his ever retreating shadow. Ahiru, finding it hopeless to catch up with him, paused in her running to catch her breath. As she took in a deep breath she turned her head around and around and eventually spotted the end of a shadow disappear around the corner of a building. "There!" She whispered to herself and quickly continued her pursuit.

Once she rounded the corner, Mytho was already out of sight and all that she could see was a forest of trees in front of her. "He must've gone into the forest." Pressing onwards through the trees, it had taken Ahiru a good while before she finally reached a clearing. Since only small bits of moonlight here and there made it through the foliage above, Ahiru could only rely on the quiet snaps of twigs and branches ahead to judge whether or not she was really going the right way. Once she stepped out from behind the trees and into an open area, Ahiru recognized the place almost immediately. In front of her was a grassy shore that lined the edge of the crystal pond that she had just visited earlier that day. The once calm and soothing surface of the lake seemed even more beautiful under the moonlight, but also gave it an ominous feeling.

Then, Ahiru saw that at the end of the dock nearby, stood the subject of her pursuit, staring out at the lake. Ahiru cautiously approached him, but made sure to leave a good distance between them on the dock. "M-Mytho?" Ahiru could see him turn his head slightly, and he said, "Ahiru? What are you doing out this late?" Ahiru almost felt relieved. It seemed like Mytho was still himself, but Ahiru still felt unsure.

"I-I could ask you the same thing, Mytho. Why are you out here alone?" Mytho did not answer. He simply stood at the edge of the dock with his back to her. After a few moments, Ahiru hesitantly stepped forward to see if he was all right, but almost as soon as she did so, he turned around to face her. "Mytho?" Ahiru stepped away from him. His now red eyes focused solely on her.

"You know...I've always had to settle on eating normal, tainted human hearts." He took one step towards Ahiru, who in turn, stepped away. "I've always wanted to try eating the Prince's pure heart. But if I did that now, that would be destroying my vessel." Ahiru didn't like where this was going. Mytho kept approaching her menacingly and his eyes began to stray away from her face, and down to her heart. Ahiru gulped. _Oh no...what should I do...ah, I know! Maybe Princess Tutu's dancing could- _Ahiru remembered back to the last time she had transformed into Princess Tutu in an attempt to bring the Prince back to his senses. At that time, her dancing had no affect on him, instead, he swung his sword at her! _That's right...Princess Tutu's dancing might not be able to help the Prince right now! Does that mean...all I can do right now is run away? _Ahiru took one last glance at Mytho before closing her eyes and running in the opposite direction.

She had almost made it into the cover of the forest when she suddenly felt a hand squeeze tightly around her wrist and pull her back. Her back fell against Mytho's chest and her heart began beating rapidly. It was all beginning to seem familiar. Ahiru turned around to try and release her arm from his grasp but was suddenly pulled back against his chest again. This time, his hand held her by shoulder to hold her in place. "Your heart...it is just as pure as the Prince's." He whispered into her ear. "I wonder if it tastes any better than those other beautiful hearts I ripped out." Ahiru gasped and twisted her head slowly to look at him, but she almost wished she hadn't. His red eyes were hungry for blood and his school uniform had somehow changed into the clothes of the Prince of Crows.

Then, she felt a sharp pain in her chest as Mytho dug his claw-like hand into her skin. The closer he got to her heart, the more the pain grew, and Ahiru's gasps of pain turned into one loud scream.

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"Aaaaaaaaahhhh!"

Fakir shot up from his pillow and immediately looked to the window. "What was that?" _It couldn't have been Mytho...could it?_ Fakir swung his legs off of his bed and urgently made his way across the hall to Ahiru's room. He opened the door only to find an empty room. "Where did she...?" Fakir heard another cry and he was sure that he recognized it. "Damn it! That idiot!" Fakir ran back to his room and grabbed his sword before storming out the front door.

He ran in the direction that the screams had come from as fast as he could, praying that Ahiru was all right. _That moron! Why did she not wake me up at least? _

When he had finally reached the lake, he spared no time in his rescue. Immediately, he charged at Mytho with his sword. With an angry hiss, Mytho jumped out of the way and ran back into the forest. Fakir stared off after him before kneeling down beside Ahiru, who had now collapsed on the ground. Fakir dropped his sword and gently turned Ahiru over on her back. Her chest was covered in blood and Fakir pressed his hand against her wound in an attempt to stop the flow.

Without another thought, Fakir carefully scooped Ahiru into his arms and carried her back into town.


	10. Get well soon!

**I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters.**

Hey everyone! I guess I don't have very much to say right now :P So I guess I'll just go ahead and say:

Please comment and review!

Thank you very much to BlueForestAngelCat, Moon Shadow Magic, YuukixZero16-in-yellow, and Lloyd Forever for their comments and reviews! You guys get daifuku ;D

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"Fakir, where's Ahiru? She didn't come to class?" Fakir looked up from his stretches to the couple in front of him.

"No..."

"Is she sick? Did something happen?" Fakir stayed silent and kept his eyes on the floor.

"I...I hurt her...didn't I?" Fakir took a deep breath and nodded. Rue gasped. "Is she okay?"

"Yeah...I took her back home. Raetsel's taking care of her now. I got to her before her wounds could get too serious but she's going to be away for a few days." Mytho and Rue nodded and slowly went back to their stretches.

Once lessons began, Fakir couldn't keep his mind off of Ahiru. He probably wouldn't admit it to anyone else, but he was worried about her. Although she would make a full recovery, Fakir couldn't help but dwell on the fact that Ahiru was so close to having her heart ripped out.

"Fakir?" Fakir turned his attention to Miss Lorna standing in front of him. "You are living with Ahiru, aren't you? Do you know where she is today?"

"She's...she got hurt yesterday. She'll be away from class for a few days."

"I see...Fakir?"

"Hm?"

"Go." Fakir frowned with confusion.

"What?"

Miss Lorna crossed her arms and gave Fakir a gentle smile. "As a ballet instructor, I'm rather skilled in the art of 'observing' others in order to teach. I could see from a mile away that you are very unfocused today and if you lack focus and concentration with any kind of dancing, there's a possibility that you could get injured. Now that you've told me about Ahiru, I have a feeling that the reason for this is her. That's why, I want you to go home and take care of her."

"It's fine. I can-"

"Fakir, this is an exception that I'm offering for today only."

Fakir paused to consider this offer and finally, he nodded. "Thank you..." Miss Lorna nodded and turned back to her class. As Fakir left, he missed the sudden flash of Mytho's eyes.

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When Fakir returned home, Ahiru was resting peacefully in her bed, and Raetsel was patiently sitting by her bed reading a book. When Fakir walked into the room, she noticed him immediately and greeted him. "Oh, welcome home Fakir. But, isn't it a bit early for classes to be over?"

"Miss Lorna dismissed me from class."

Raetsel giggled slightly. "I see...were you that worried?"

Fakir blushed and ignored her comment. He walked over to Ahiru's bed and sat on the edge. "Thank you for taking care of her Raetsel. I can watch over her for the rest of the day."

"Thank you very much Fakir. I had an errand to run for Hans anyway. I'll be back tomorrow, okay Fakir?" Fakir nodded and took Raetsel's place in the chair. He sat in the chair patiently, until suddenly Ahiru stirred. She opened her eyes slowly and once she saw Fakir, she pushed herself up on her elbows with a wince.

"Idiot! Your wounds haven't healed yet. Lie down." Fakir said as he gently pushed her back down by her shoulders.

"My wounds?" Ahiru obediently laid back down, but pushed her blankets down so that she could see her chest. Underneath her night gown, she could see bandages wrapped around her chest. "Oh yeah...." Fakir shook his head. She had almost forgotten what had happened.

"You Moron!" He hissed. "Why did you go and do something stupid like that? Why didn't you wake me up last night?"

Ahiru frowned. "Well, y'know, I was going to. But when I peeked into your room, you looked so tired and I didn't want to wake you."

"You idiot! Keeping you from getting yourself into trouble is more important than sleep. Mytho almost ripped out your heart!"

"Well...Well...!" Ahiru puffed up, trying her best to think of a come back. However, like always, Fakir was right and Ahiru couldn't think of anything to say except, "Well...but he didn't. You were there to help me..."

"And what if I'm not there? What if you're somewhere where I can't reach you!?"

"Fakir! Why are you making such a big deal out of this!?"

"Why!? Because you almost-!" Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door that silenced them both. Fakir sighed and turned around to go answer it. When he opened the door, he found Pique and Lillie holding a bouquet of flowers with a creme colored card stuck between them.

"H-h-hey there, Fakir. I'm sorry we eavesdropped but we couldn't help hearing about Ahiru's injury. So, we brought her some flowers and a get well soon card! Um, can you give them to her?" Pique held the bouquet out for Fakir to take, who simply nodded in return.

"So, Ahiru will be coming back to class soon right? Her injury's not that bad, right?"

"Yeah, she'll be back in a few days or so."

"Oh! That's so wonderful! I would die if I'd never be able to see Ahiru completely and utterly fail in class anymore!" Pique sighed and turned Lillie around. As Lillie happily skipped back to the dorms, Pique stayed behind and fiddled with her hands.

"Um...Fakir, if you don't mind my asking...could you be...a bit gentler with Ahiru?"

"What?"

"Well, I mean, I don't really know what happened, but even if it was Ahiru's fault that she got hurt, she's still hurt, you know? At least it's not as bad as it could be, right? So, maybe instead of yelling at her, you should just focus on helping her get better..." Pique dared to glance up at Fakir and saw that he was staring at her, slightly shocked. "Ah, but you know, that's just my opinion! Uh, see you tomorrow!" With that, Pique ran off to catch up to Lillie.

Fakir closed the door and stared at the bouquet in his hands. He sighed and headed back to Ahiru's room. "Hey, Ahiru, your friends-" When Fakir entered the room, he found that Ahiru had already fallen sound asleep. He smiled slightly and set the bouquet of flowers on her bedside table. Then, he quickly went to his room to fetch a quill and parchment before returning to his chair by Ahiru's bedside. Before setting his quill down on the paper, he thought , _It's been a while since I last wrote a story..._

_

* * *

_

Sorry this took so long to post! It was exam week so I was busy studying. *cough*lastminute*cough* But, anyways, I finally posted it! Not much really happened, eh? But I promise it's leading to something. :P Enjoy!


	11. Resurrection

Hi everyone! The finale is right around the corner and I don't know whether to be happy or sad. Hm. (=~=); Well, in any case, here goes.

Special thanks to -Rhiannon-Onyx Moon, BlueForestAngelCat, Insomniatic95, Moon Shadow Magic, YuukixZero16-in-yellow and lloyd-forever for the comments and reviews!

Disclaimer: I do not own Princess Tutu or any of its characters...hrm, except for Miss Lorna I suppose but...well, you'll see.

Also, NOTE: This chapter has a teenie time skip. Only about two days after the last chapter.

Oh, and after writing this chapter, I noticed that this story sort of goes with the song, _Danse Macabre _by Saint-Saens. Like, if you play it right when Rue finds the girl dead in the dorm room, it should fit with the rest of the story...unless that's just me. :P

* * *

"Aaaw, c'mon Fakir! Can I please go back to school?" Ahiru whined from across the table. "I'm already up and walking and my chest hardly hurts anymore!"

"No. It's only been three days. You shouldn't rush your health." Fakir said adamantly as he finished up the last of his breakfast.

"But Fakiiiiir!"

Charon chuckled. "Ahiru, Fakir's right. After an injury like that, you need to be patient and wait for it to heal completely; especially for you as a dancer. If it hasn't healed fully, it could hinder your movement or perhaps cause you harm."

Ahiru pouted. "Yeah...I guess." Charon chuckled again.

"Well, it sure seems like much of your energy has come back so I think one more day of rest should do it. What do you think Fakir?"

Fakir replied with a simple "Ah" and grabbed his book bag, heading towards the door. Ahiru brightened up slightly and as Fakir left, Ahiru yelled, "Have a good day Fakir!" Fakir blushed slightly before disappearing down the hall. Once Fakir left, Ahiru got up from her chair with a little wobble and smiled at Charon. "Well, I'm going to go up and rest a little now. Thank you for the breakfast Charon!"

"Ah, it's no problem Ahiru. But, if you don't mind, you'll be here by yourself for a little while. I have to go now and Raetsel said that she won't be over until noon. Is that okay with you?"

"Mhm! You don't have to worry about me Charon! I can take care of the house." Charon chuckled as he got up and prepared to head to his shop. Meanwhile, Ahiru went to her room and snuggled into her bedsheets.

* * *

"Good morning, my Prince." Mytho opened his eyes slowly and smiled up at Rue who sat near his head on the edge of the bed.

"Good morning, Rue." Rue smiled and leaned down to give Mytho a quick kiss.

"Come, Prince, you should get ready, class will start soon." Mytho nodded and got out of bed. He headed towards the dresser on the far side of the room where his uniform was neatly folded but paused to look out the window. He could see his room across the yard to the boys' dorm. For the past few nights, he'd been secretly sleeping in Rue's room. He was sure that people had already noticed, but since most people already knew that him and Rue were engaged, no one made a fuss.

It had been his idea. After what happened with Ahiru, Mytho no longer trusted himself alone. So, as a result, he had asked Rue to practically keep a twenty-four hour surveillance on him. As far as he knew, it was working. However, every day, he could feel the Raven pecking at his consciousness, fighting to control him.

"Aaaaaaaaahhh!!!!" Mytho snapped to the ear piercing scream right outside the door. Rue looked to him and almost immediately they were out the door and amongst the crowd of girls in the doorway to one of the rooms.

"Someone! Call a teacher! Call a doctor!"

Rue impatiently pushed through the crowd until she reached the front, only to see a brown haired girl in her pajamas holding another girl in her arms on the floor. There was deep red puddle of blood building around them. "Oh my gosh, Aeira! Please, someone help her!" The brown girl sobbed. Rue closed her eyes and looked away. She had caught a glimpse of the red, yet empty hole in the middle of the other girl's chest.

Rue pushed her way back out of the crowd and frowned. "Mytho?" She looked around. "Mytho!?" Rue panicked and hurried back to her room. Mytho was nowhere to be found. "No." Rue whirled around to go search for Mytho only to find that he was already leaning against the now closed door behind her.

"Mytho...did you do that?" Mytho stared carelessly in Rue's direction, his red eyes piercing right through her. However, Rue stood her ground. Seeing that Rue stood strong against his gaze, Mytho sighed and walked past Rue towards the window.

"Yes. One night when you weren't looking. I was quite surprised that someone had actually found the body. I thought I had taken out the hearts of most of the townspeople by now. I guess I was wrong."

Rue glared at him. "Why? I only began to notice it when Ahiru pointed it out, but out of the many people you simply left heartless, why are there some that wind up like...like that? There was the maid from the castle and now this!"

Suddenly, Mytho began laughing. "Foolish Kraehe. There were many more than that."

"What?"

"I simply couldn't resist myself. Their pure hearts were much too alluring. So, instead of waiting to gouge their hearts out with the Prince's sword, I simply ripped them out." As Mytho spoke, Rue felt herself becoming more and more horrified. "However, even their hearts aren't good enough for me. Perhaps to renew my true form, yes, but not quite enough to fulfill my hunger. It seems I still crave the purest of them all." Rue grew even more wide eyed as she realized what the Raven truly wanted.

"You...evil Raven!!!" Rue grabbed Mytho by the shoulders and began shaking him. "Please! Stop this! I swear, I won't let you take the Prince's heart!"

Mytho roughly pushed Rue off of him and onto the floor. He snorted at her. "Foolish girl. You still think I'm after the Prince's heart. I do crave a heart like his, but I'm not so stupid as to take it while I inhabit it."

"Then..." Mytho glared at her once more before turning around to the window. Then, Mytho climbed onto the window seat and opened the window. Rue gasped.

"Mytho! Wait!" Just as Rue got up and ran towards the window, a crow warrior appeared before her, obstructing her path, and Mytho had already jumped out the window. Although the crow blocked her way, she managed to catch sight of Mytho as he disappeared in a burst of black feathers. Rue's gaze lingered in the sky where Mytho had disappeared until she noticed the tip of a sword being pointed at her chest.

"Tch." Rue turn around and headed for the door only to find that a crow stood there as well. Slowly, the two ravens on either side of her approached.

* * *

On his way to school, Fakir couldn't help but grimace at the silence that greeted him on his way. The longer it took to for them to figure out how to stop the Raven, the quieter the town became. He could see many people roaming the streets, passing him by, but they were all the same. They were merely empty shells.

"There's no way I'll let this story end this way."

Once the school building came into view, Fakir stopped. Perched on the roofs of the academy buildings were numerous crows and ravens, all cawing loudly, as if they were excited. "What the-?" Fakir shook away his surprise and ran towards the lesson room.

* * *

Rue jumped and ducked, dodging their blades as best she could. Rue probably could have handled one crow on her own, but two was just a bit too much. They were fast and were quickly backing her into a corner.

Her back hit the wall and the crows spared no time in closing in the distance. _No...I have to find Mytho! I can't die here! If only...if only I could transform into Kraehe! Then maybe...but, I can't anymore...can I?_

_

* * *

_

Fakir ran into the ballet building and headed towards the lesson room. Upon entering the hallway leading to the lesson room, Fakir spotted Mytho standing right outside its door. "Mytho!"

Mytho turned his head towards Fakir only to give him a mocking smirk before entering the room, closing the door behind him. "Hey, wait!" Fakir ran towards the door and turned the handle. Finding that it had been locked, Fakir banged angrily at the door. "Mytho!!"

Miss Lorna came down from pointe and turned to Mytho as he stepped forward. "Mytho? You're here rather early." At the sound of Fakir's loud banging on the door, Miss Lorna frowned and looked past Mytho. "Who is that banging on the door?" Miss Lorna quickly walked towards the door, only to be stopped by Mytho's suddenly changing appearance. "Mytho?"

* * *

Suddenly, Rue felt a change run through her. It was familiar and Rue was both happy and a little bit sad because of it. She was transforming into the black swan, Princess Kraehe, the persona that had driven her to throw the story into chaos. This time, however, it would save her life.

Rue quickly threw herself into a pirouette, producing a wall of black feathers that burst outwards, throwing the crows back. Taking their state of unbalance to her advantage, Rue launched a feather at each of them. Hitting her targets head on, the crows vanished.

Rue relaxed and looked out the window. "Mytho." Then, Rue jumped out and disappeared in a whirlwind of feathers.

* * *

Fakir continued pounding his fists against the door until he finally accepted the fact that it was useless. "Damn it!" Hurriedly, Fakir turned around and headed outside. Upon stepping out of the building, he was surprised to find 'Kraehe' appear in front of him. "Rue?"

"Fakir! Have you seen Mytho?"

"Yeah, he's in the lesson room. He's locked the door though."

"What!? Was there someone else in there with him?"

"I don't know. I didn't see. Just...come on." Fakir led Rue around the building to the windows of the lesson room where they were finally able to see inside. Miss Lorna stood in the middle of the room, her back to them. But suddenly, she fell limply to the ground, revealing Mytho standing over her, her heart in his hand. "Mytho! No!!" Fakir crashed through the window, Rue following right behind him.

"Don't you dare eat her heart!!" Fakir ran at Mytho as fast as he could, but before he could even reach him, Mytho quickly devoured the heart. Then, a shock wave radiated out from Mytho, sending Fakir flying back and bursting all the windows. Mytho fell on his knees and let out a painful cry as a black object began to make its way out of Mytho's chest. Then, the object finally released itself from Mytho's chest and flew out the window. It was a pitch black heart.

"Prince!" Rue ran towards Mytho and wrapped her arms around him.

"Rue..." He said weakly. "The Raven...he's..." As if to finish Mytho's sentence, a tremor shook the ground and the light that flooded in through the windows slowly vanished. Rue slung Mytho's arm over her shoulder and helped him up. The three of them exited the lesson room only to find that the entire town was shrouded in darkness. Above them, the giant Monster Raven loomed over them.

"The Monster Raven..." Rue whispered.


	12. Captured

The Raven rumbled the ground with his laughter and narrowed his eyes at the three below.

"You cursed Raven! You've done all this for nothing!" Mytho yelled, pushing away from Rue and stabling himself. "You killed all those innocent people, gouged out so many hearts...why!? When you know that you've already failed once!"

"Foolish Prince. This time, I will certainly succeed. All I must do is snuff out your _hope_."

"Not even you can do something like that! No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible*! It's an infinite source!" Rue yelled firmly.

"Oh? You humans think too highly of this, _hope_. Allow me to show you how wrong you are! My loyal servants!" The Raven's beak opened wide, and a frightening gust of air rushed out. Then, after the wind passed, Fakir started for the entrance to the school.

"Come, we shouldn't stay here. We need to get back to my place, I'm worried about Ahiru." Rue and Mytho nodded and followed closely behind him. However, once they exited through the school gates, a large crowd greeted them. It seemed like all of Kinkan had gathered in front of the school grounds. They all inched forward slowly, dragging their feet and arms limp at their sides. Each and every one of them stared straight through the trio with empty eyes.

"No..."

"What do we do!? They're all around us!"

"Allow me." Rue brought her hand back, readying her magic when Mytho grabbed her wrist.

"No, we can't. I won't hurt my people."

"Prince..."

"Maybe I can do something." Mytho stood back and transformed, his school uniform turning into his princely garbs and his sword appearing in his hand. Then, he stepped forward and threw himself into a pirouette, slowly inching forward towards the crowd. Underneath his foot, a flurry of flowers spilled out and pushed the crowd away, creating a path for them. Rue and Fakir followed behind the trail of flowers until they were finally out of the crowd and quickly broke into a run for Fakir's house.

As the crowd behind them began to follow, they ducked into an alleyway that headed straight to Fakir's house. Soon enough, Fakir's house came into view and Rue, Mytho and Fakir stepped out onto the open road. "We should hurry. I have a bad feeling." Fakir nodded and turned to his door.

"Watch out!" Rue cried. Fakir looked up and braced himself as a Raven warrior dived down from above. However, Mytho pushed Fakir out of the way and thrust his sword upward into the Raven's chest, making it disappear. But just as it did, a circle of warriors appeared around them, cornering them against Fakir's house. Immediately, they charged to meet Mytho's blade and Rue's feathers. "Fakir! Hurry and get Ahiru!"

Fakir nodded and threw his door open. He ran down the hall and climbed the stairs. "Ahiru!! Ahiru!"

In her bedroom, Ahiru groaned and sat up groggily. Rubbing her eyes she mumbled to herself. "Is that Fakir? That's odd. I thought he went to school..." Then, Ahiru turned her head to her window and saw the dark sky. She opened her window and stuck her head out. The first thing she saw was the giant Monster Raven and his malicious red eyes. "Quack!!!" Ahiru shrank into a duck and dug herself out of her clothes. _The Raven!? Wh-why? H-how!? When!? _Then, Ahiru heard the commotion outside. Ahiru flapped onto the windowsill and looked down at Rue and Mytho who were struggling against the large number of Ravens. _Rue! Mytho! I have to go help them! Ah, but first..._ Ahiru hopped down from her window and walked across her bed to her bedside table where a small bowl of water lay undisturbed.

Since Ahiru moved into Fakir's house and realized that she could still turn into a duck, she had gotten into the habit of leaving a bowl of water in her room. It had actually been Fakir's idea since he didn't want any _incidents_ happening. Ahiru was actually quite surprised at how convenient it was now.

Quickly, she hopped into the bowl and in a flash of light, became a girl again. She slipped her night gown over her head and made her way to the door. But as she took her first step, her bedroom door flew open and Fakir rushed in. "Ahiru! We have to go." Ahiru nodded and began to follow Fakir back towards the stairs. But there to greet them was a pair of Raven warriors.

"Fakir!" One of them lunged at Fakir but he quickly stepped out of the way and with a swift kick he knocked the sword out of its hands. Fakir grabbed the sword in mid-air and sliced through the unarmed raven. Then, as Fakir began to fight off the last raven, a flock of crows flew in through the open door and aimed straight for Ahiru. "Aaaahh!" Ahiru waved her fists around aimlessly as she stumbled back away from the vile birds. Soon, they had backed her all the way back into her room.

Fakir disarmed his opponent and thrust his sword through its chest. Then, Fakir ran into Ahiru's room and found her huddled in the corner with her hands shielding her head. "Ahiru!" Quickly, Fakir dispatched the crows and knelt down beside Ahiru. "Are you okay?"

Ahiru uncurled herself from her ball and nodded. "Yeah."

"All right. C'mon, we have to go help-" Suddenly, a flock of ravens flew in through the window and transformed into warriors. They knocked Fakir away from Ahiru and cornered him against the wall. "Fakir!" Then, Ahiru was surrounded as well by two ravens who took her roughly by the arms and pulled her towards the window. "Fakir!!"

"Ahiru, no!" Fakir hacked through the ravens in front of him and ran through the opening. As Ahiru was pulled out the window and into the air, Fakir leaned out the window and reached out to pull her back. However, she was already to far and the ravens brought her higher and higher until she was right in front of the Monster Raven's gaze. "Ahiru!!!!" Fakir angrily finished off the last of the ravens in his hosue before hurrying back down to where Mytho and Rue were. They were both looking up in the air.

"Ahiru...no..."

"Finally...a pure heart for me to feast on. Now come, be a good human and wither away in my stomach like the rest of them." The Raven grinned and opened his mouth.

"The rest of them?" Ahiru murmured to herself. "Does that mean all the other townspeople's hearts are inside the Raven?" As the ravens brought Ahiru into the Raven's mouth, Ahiru looked over her shoulder at Fakir, Rue and Mytho before the Raven's beak shut. _I can't give up. Maybe I can still help from in here._


	13. Danse Macabre

I do not own Princess Tutu!

* * *

"No!!" Rue cried. "You despicable Raven!!!"

"Rue, it's all right. We'll save her. We'll get her back somehow."

"But Prince! He...he ate her...how will we...?"

"This is what the Raven wants. He wants to drive us into hopelessness. But we can't let that happen."

"But Mytho, how are we going to get her back?"

"We'll go in and get her."

From above, the Raven chuckled. "Yes, come in and get her. Then I can have all of your hearts!"

"We'll see about that." Mytho looked back at Rue and Fakir and nodded to them. They stood closer to Mytho as a cloud of flowers began to appear underneath him. Then, slowly, they were lifted off the ground. They kept climbing higher and higher until suddenly a cloud of ravens and crows flew down to meet them. Fakir gripped the sword in his hand tighter and readied himself to meet them. When Mytho's cloud of flowers and the flock of birds clashed with each other, both him and Mytho swung their swords. With each swipe they sliced through one raven after another until suddenly, a new flock appeared behind them. The dived at the two swordsmen and caught them off guard. The cloud of flowers underneath Rue, Mytho and Fakir disappeared and they all began plummeting to the ground.

As they fell, Rue jumped towards Fakir and grabbed his free hand, all the while leading him into a few simple dance moves. Their fall became a gentle descent and Rue turned to Mytho who was below them now. "Prince!"

Mytho nodded and threw himself into a pirouette. His cloud reappeared and he flew towards Rue and Fakir. Once he was underneath them, Fakir and Rue gently landed on the cloud and turned to the Monster Raven.

"I would like to have your hearts as soon as possible, but do not think that I am so ignorant. I have not forgotten my defeat in the past. I will not let you enter my body so easily."

* * *

Ahiru awoke with a groan. She sat up slowly and looked around her. Everything that seemed to be the sky was pitch black and the ground underneath her was a dull, lifeless gray. Spread out across the desolate place were skeletons, some that danced despairingly, and some that simply lay dead on the ground. "This is...inside the Raven?"

Ahiru got up and walked around aimlessly with the intent of exploring the endless plain. As she passed more and more skeletons, she began to wonder, _These can't be...the townspeople...will I end up like this? _Ahiru shook her head violently. "No no no!!! I can't give in to despair! I have to keep hoping!"

Then, as if hearing her outburst, all the skeletons as far as she could see stopped abruptly in their dance and turned their heads to her. Ahiru froze. "Uhhhh..."

"There..." The Raven's voice echoed out through the air. "That girl has the pure heart that I have searched for...perhaps if you offered it to me I just might set you all free..."

"Qu-!?" Ahiru quickly covered her mouth before she quacked and backed away as the skeletons turned their bodies to her and now began to approach. Ahiru ran to escape, but a skeleton closed in on her from every side. She backed away until she was right in the middle of them and began to panic. _Oh no...what do I do!!!_ Ahiru closed her eyes as the skeletons around her jumped in a grand jeté towards her. "Quack!!!"

Ahiru transformed into a duck just as the skeletons piled on top of her. With a great effort, Ahiru managed to squeeze through the pile of bones and hurry away before any of them could notice. Once the skeletons were finally out of sight, Ahiru slowed down and sighed. _Transforming into a duck might have saved me back there...but how am I going to turn back into a girl? I don't see any water here...and not only that, I left my clothes back with those skeletons! _Ahiru sighed again. For now, she decided to push back those concerns. They weren't her biggest problems at the moment. Right now, she had to either find a way out, or find the townspeople.

Ahiru picked up her pace again, eager to find what she was looking for and to also not let the skeleton's catch up to her. "Quack?" _What is that?_ Not too far away, Ahiru spotted a rather large group of sparkling red lights. She picked up her pace and once she got closer, she noticed that in the middle of each glowing light, was a red crystal that looked very much like Mytho's heart shards. However, these red crystals seemed more complete and full, and took on the shape of a heart. _Hearts?_

Ahiru stopped just in front of the numerous lights and gasped. Suddenly she could see the translucent images of the people whom the hearts belonged to. She recognized each and every one of them. "Quack quack quack!!!" _It's the people of Kinkan!!_

_

* * *

_

"Prince, what are we going to do?"

"What else can we do? There's no other way to get inside the Raven except by force."

"It seems that way, but it can't be! With all those ravens at his disposal we can hardly hope to get past them."

"Then we need to find a way to get rid of them." Fakir mumbled to himself thoughtfully. Mytho and Rue turned to him.

"Fakir, do you have an idea?"

"Well, Rue, you once had power over the ravens and crows as Princess Kraehe. Perhaps you can divide their numbers and turn them to our side..."

"That's true but...I'm no longer their Princess. I betrayed them, remember? I doubt they'd listen to me..."

"But if you still have the power to transform into Princess Kraehe then that means you definitely still have Raven's blood in you. I don't see why at least some of them wouldn't rebel."

Rue considered this for a moment and then nodded hesitantly. "Okay...I'll try." Fakir nodded and Mytho began to bring them back up to the cloud of birds above. Stopping just before them, Rue stepped forward and began dancing. "Oh mischievous, cunning birds...I, your former Princess beckons you." Rue slid down on one knee and reached out her hands to the birds. "I betrayed you once before, but please, I ask that you aid me in this battle. After all, what do you have to gain from serving a monster like that. I may seem like the traitor here, but in truth, he's the one who has betrayed you!" Rue got up and performed the 32 fouettes en tournant. "The noble blood that he claims to have is simply a ruse; an excuse to use you and then simply throw you away. Help me overthrow him and I promise I'll lead you all into peace!"

Once Rue had completed her series of fouettes, a large portion of the ravens split off and flew to Rue's side. She smiled in amazement. "They listened!"

"Good job Rue. Now we might be able to break through!" Mytho exclaimed. Rue nodded and jumped into the air in a grand jete. The ravens followed her and began fighting off the rest of the birds. Mytho and Fakir few past the fray on the cloud of flowers and followed Rue towards the Raven's belly. Mid-jump, Rue noticed a gaping scar in the middle of the Raven's chest. _Ah, that would probably be the easiest way for us to get in._

Rue raised her hand and a black feather appeared. It transformed into a sharp dagger and Rue waited before she was in front of the scar before tracing it with her blade. The Raven winced in pain as part of his scar opened, allowing Mytho, Rue and Fakir passage into his belly.

Mytho gently landed them all on the gray ground beneath them. "What is this place?" Fakir wondered.

"This is simply what's inside the Raven. A hopeless, never ending pit of despair. However, I still can't refuse the fact that it has its own peaceful and calming essence." Rue whispered.

"Rue..." Suddenly, then, Mytho heard a rattling behind him. He gripped his blade and swiftly cut through the enemy behind him. The skeleton fell apart and its bones lay lifeless on the ground.

"Watch out, there's more." Rue warned. Indeed many more came from behind and approached quickly.

"Fakir, go ahead and search for Ahiru! You have to find her quickly before the Raven completely takes her heart!"

"I'm not leaving. I can fight."

"No Fakir!" Mytho shoved back a group of skeletons with the flat side of his blade and then slashed through them. "We'll be fine here, right Rue?"

"That's right. Ahiru's safety is what matters right now. I can't help but feel that if the Raven has her heart then there really is no hope in defeating him."

Fakir stepped forward stubbornly to help, but then thought better of it. With a grunt he turned around and ran to search for Ahiru.

* * *

Well, that's all for now! The last two chapters will be up by Sunday...(hopefully.) :D I'm actually getting quite excited myself so I'm going to try and hurry along. But anyways...

Thanks very much to all reviewers especially BlueForestAngelCat, Diabolical Kitsutora, -Rhiannon-Onyx Moon, Insomniatic95, and Moon Shadow Magic. :D Please do keep reviewing!

Side Note: For some reason, I just couldn't stop listening to Camille Saint-Saens' music while writing this! I just love his Carnival of the Animals musical suite! Each is so unique and wonderful! Also, probably my favorite by him, (not part of the Carnival of the Animals) is Danse Macabre. If you'd like to hear it, youtube it or you can even hear it in Princess Tutu! It's the main theme for episode 24. I might name this chapter or the next after it because of the Raven controlling the skeletons to attack Ahiru. If you knew the story or poem behind the piece then you'd get it. :P


	14. The end

I do not own Princess Tutu!

;_; Last chapter everyone! Er...well, last and then the epilogue. :P Thanks very much for your comments and reviews and uh...happy writings!? ^_^;

* * *

"Quack quack qua quack quack qua quack!!" Ahiru quacked urgently, waving her wings frantically to make a point. However, it seemed none of the townspeople were even slightly interested in the little yellow duck. _Please! You have to listen to me! Please, come with me! I can find a way out!_

No matter how much Ahiru persisted, none of them would even look at her. She pouted but then perked up. _Oh I know! Maybe they might listen to Princess Tutu!_

Ahiru folded her wing over the pendant at her neck and it began to glow. Her body grew and her feathers were replaced by skin and clothes. She now wore Princess Tutu's white and pink tutu and pink toe shoes. She stepped forward and rolled her hands over her head, performing the mime for, 'Dance with me.'

The people looked to her but did not move. "Who are you?" One of them asked.

"I am Princess Tutu. Will you follow me?"

The people shied away from her slightly. "Why should we follow you?"

Ahiru approached them en pointe and then lifted one of her legs in arabesque. She stretched out her arms to them, as if urging them to take her hands. "Simply because I want to help you. I may not know the way out of this dark place, but if we just work together, I'm sure we could find a way to leave this place."

"We've already tried searching for a way out! We tried many times already! But there's just no way out..." Pique stepped out of the crowd to face Ahiru directly. Lillie peeked her head out beside her.

"Yeah! To think, I wouldn't be so sad if only Ahiru was here to suffer with me." Lillie pressed her palms against her cheeks dramatically and sighed with a genuine frown.

Ahiru ignored Lillie's comment and began dancing around the crowd of people, reaching out to each person and trying to touch their hearts with her dance. "No matter how many times you fail, don't you think it's worth it to keep trying? If you just give up, you'll never be able to see the warming light of the sun, or feel the cool rush of the wind. If you just give up now, you'll never be able to return to the lives you once knew!"

"I think that that's quite all right." Ahiru looked towards the new voice. Autor stepped out with his arms crossed. _Even Autor is here too...even though we saved him before..._Ahiru thought sadly. "The world outside of this place is complicated and full of nothing but inevitable failures and untouchable dreams. Here, there is nothing. It's a quiet and calm world where we can simply _be_ and not have to worry about such complications."

A low rumble of agreements came from the crowd of people behind him and Ahiru stopped dancing. _They can't be that deep in despair, can they? What if I..._

"We don't want to go with you, Miss." Ahiru looked up to see Charon and Raetsel standing in front of her now. "You can leave if you want but...for us-" Charon motioned to the crowd behind him. "I think this is a much better place for us."

_No, they can't **want** to stay here, can they? But...if they're happy here...should I just let them..._Ahiru fell down on her knees and looked over the crowd sorrowfully. _What do I do!?_

Ahiru felt tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks and reached her hands up to wipe them away when she felt them suddenly being pulled back behind her. "Ah!" Ahiru struggled against the skeletal fingers binding her arms behind her. However, the harder she struggled, the farther back her arms were pulled until it felt like they were going to be ripped out of their sockets. She gasped in pain and closed her eyes tightly once she saw the rest of her pursuers approaching. _No! Am I...going to die? But...what about Rue and Mytho, and Fakir! I have to help them...! _

"Ahiru!!!" Ahiru's head snapped up when she heard the familiar voice. Then, in the blink of an eye, her arms were set free and the skeletons around her were reduced to no more than piles of bones one by one.

"Fakir!" Fakir knelt down in front of Ahiru and grabbed her shoulder lightly.

"Are you okay?" Then, Ahiru remembered her dilemma and shook her head.

"They won't listen to me Fakir! They don't want to go back to Kinkan Town...they say that they're happy here. Does that mean I should just...leave them here? What do I do, Fakir?" She shook her head in despair.

"Shouldn't it be obvious? We're bringing them back."

"What? But they said-"

"They may have said that but look where we are and think about how long these souls have been here. They've been trapped in the darkness for so long and are completely consumed in despair. They're too consumed in it that they can't remember the happiness that comes with life. It's our job to help bring back those memories."

"But Fakir, I've already tried! I just can't-"

"Moron, just shut up and try again." Fakir said lightly. "I'll help you." Fakir stood up and grabbed Ahiru's hand. He pulled her up and then reached into the school bag that still hanged from his shoulder. He took out a few sheets of parchment, a quill, and a wooden board to write on. He positioned his pen over the paper and nodded to Ahiru. Ahiru returned the gesture hesitantly and then began dancing.

"Ahiru, who once again borrowed the power of Princess Tutu, began to dance. In her heart, she was unsure of herself, unsure of whether or not she had the power to help her beloved friends and family. However, when she looked over her shoulder to the boy writing her story, she could see in his eyes that he was there to lift the weight of her worries with the power that he was about to give her."

Just as Fakir wrote it, Ahiru looked over her shoulder to Fakir and he looked her firmly in the eye. His eyes were full of courage and determination and as their eyes locked, Ahiru could feel those same feelings flowing through her as well.

"With her new-found courage, she began to dance with all her heart. However, this time, she knew that words would not be able to help her unless her dance could open their hearts."

Ahiru danced beautifully but silently, her actions saying all that needed to be said. At first, the people continued to ignore her, but then slowly, they began turning their attention towards her. As she danced, she saw Charon step out from the crowd once again.

"Miss, we've told you already that we want to stay here. So...why do you keep dancing? Why do you stay here?"

"Charon, I thought that the reason would have been easy for you to see." Both Ahiru and Charon looked to Fakir who still kept writing. "A long time ago, this same person helped you to leave behind your regrets; regrets that had held you back for quite some time. I thought that after that you would have learned not to let regrets stop you from living your life."

"Fakir? I didn't choose to stay here because of regrets from out there."

"Oh? It doesn't look that way to me. By staying here in this place, it seems to me like your here simply to run away from regrets and all your negative emotions." Then, Fakir looked up from his writing and addressed all the people. "You all say that you're happy here, but you only say that because the darkness of despair has blotted out the light in your hearts. It has made you forget about all of the good in your lives." Fakir's words were visibly beginning to sway some people. They began to look unsure of themselves but then, someone spoke out.

"Really, Fakir?" The crowd parted slightly to reveal Autor again. "Sure, there may have been those happy times, but don't forget, you of all people should know how much disappointment and sadness there is in this world. After all, much of it has fallen on you and those you care about."

"What?"

"Your parents were slain by ravens and from the very beginning, you were fated to be torn in two! Then, even when you had escaped your fate and took up writing, you still weren't able to truly match Drosselmeyer's power. You were able to defeat the raven but you couldn't give the story a true happy ending. Everyone here is proof that so many people were left unhappy. Even your friends suffered after the story. Your Prince suffered having the Raven nest in his heart and Rue...she had to watch him go through that. And you! You were so disappointed that your duck could never be your Ahiru. Instead, because you couldn't do anything about it, she had to live in such a state. Bird in body, human at heart."

"That's..." Fakir clenched his fists and stopped writing.

"That's true." Everyone turned to Ahiru who had stopped dancing but had her hands folded on her chest. "Everyone's lives are full of sadness and disappointment and despair. But as long as you have hope you can always keep looking on into the future and then perhaps one day, you will be able to overcome those things. Fakir escaped his horrible fate entirely and even though his power wasn't strong enough to give everyone a true happy ending, he still kept trying. He still kept hoping that one day, his powers would be strong enough to do so!" Ahiru closed her eyes thoughtfully. "As a duck, I watched Fakir hone his power everyday. He would write at the dock while he watched over me, and then late at night before he went to sleep."

"And as for Rue and Mytho...they suffered the most out of all of us. However, they endured much worst before the story ended and I have no doubt that they will be able to endured it again. As long as they have each other, they will never lose hope."

Autor crossed his arms and pushed up his glasses, clearly displeased with her defense. "All right then, but what about you then? Your power is simply borrowed once again. Once this story ends, it's highly likely that you'll simply go back to being a duck and live the rest of your life miserably!"

"That is not true either. Even if I were to revert back into a duck, I would still be happy. I missed all the things that I took for granted as a human, but as long as Fakir was with me...as long as he was by my side...that's what kept me going. That's what gave me hope." Autor stared in shock for a moment and then sighed.

"Fine then...I surrender."

"Miss," Ahiru turned back to Charon. "If you can find still find hope in the worst of situations, then I choose to follow you. Perhaps you can shed some light on both this world and ours." Charon smiled and walked over to stand beside Fakir. "And thank you too, Fakir." Fakir nodded and then looked to Ahiru.

"Thanks." Ahiru smiled gently at him.

"It's time to put an end to this story." Fakir nodded and began to write again.

"Now that she had opened the people's hearts, she continued her dancing. She circled them, the warmth and hope in her dance spreading out into the hearts once again. Then, the boy who wrote for her, urged her to follow him. He began to lead them back to where the Prince and his Princess were." Fakir began retracing his steps, back to where he had left Mytho and Rue, and Ahiru followed closely behind him, still dancing.

"The two kept heading towards their destination, but dared not look back, afraid that their efforts had gone to waste. They would simply hope that the people had chosen to follow them." Fakir and Ahiru both focused on getting back to their friends but behind them, all the people of Kinkan followed.

* * *

"Finally. That's the last of them." Mytho panted as he relaxed out of his stance. All of the skeletons had finally been subdued, but Mytho was still worried. "Was Fakir able to find Ahiru on time?"

Rue joined Mytho at his side and grabbed his hand reassuringly. "I'm sure he did. Their bond is strong. Fakir would never let anything happen to her." Mytho nodded in agreement and stared off in the direction that Fakir had gone. They waited patiently until a blur of red appeared in the distance.

"Mytho! Rue!" Fakir called once they were within sight. Rue and Mytho breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Ahiru, or Princess Tutu, was trailing behind him.

"Ahiru! You're okay!" Rue hugged her but then stepped back, looking at all the glowing red lights around them. "But, what are all these...?"

"These are the hearts of all the people of Kinkan. I suppose their hearts were left in tact because they were taken out by the Prince's sword."

"These are the people of Kinkan?" To both Rue and Mytho, the lights were nothing more than lights, but when they looked closer, they could see the ghostly figures of the townspeople.

"Mytho, how do we get them out of here?"

"Ah, leave that to me." Mytho took a deep breath and began to pirouette. A cloud of flowers began to spread out beneath the people, but the crowd was much to big. Then, Ahiru joined Mytho and together, they created a cloud large enough to take everyone up towards the scar where Mytho, Rue and Fakir had entered. As they all looked out onto the town through the open scar, they could all still see the empty bodies of the townspeople walking aimlessly throughout the town. Ahiru turned to the hearts and gestured towards their bodies below.

"Now, please, return to yourselves." The ghostly images of the people faded back into nothing more than red lights and floated off, each returning to their own body. Once all the people's hearts had returned, Mytho turned to Ahiru, Rue and Fakir.

"All right. Now, it's time to end this." Mytho raised his sword, pointing it into the dark space above where the Raven's heart was sure to be.

"Go ahead, Prince..." They all gasped as the Raven's voice echoed throughout the air. "Thrust your sword through my heart once again. No matter what you do, I'll be able to revive myself countless times as long as you have my Raven's blood within you." The Raven laughed mockingly at them. Mytho gripped his sword tighter but Rue stopped him from raising it again.

"My Prince, he's right. Unless we can remove the Raven's blood from within you, the Raven will just keep coming back."

"But...then what can we do?"

"Simple." Fakir crossed his arms with a slight smirk. "All we can do, is combine our powers and smash the Raven's heart into pieces."

"But Fakir, he can just-"

"Even if it doesn't rid us of the Raven for good, we will always be there to stop the Raven from succeeding." Ahiru stood beside Fakir and nodded.

"Yes, as long as we all band together we can overcome the Raven. We will keep triumphing over the Raven until we find a way to rid the Prince of his raven's blood. For now, though..."

"...the only thing that we can do is all that we can do!" Fakir and Ahiru said together. Mytho and Rue stood stunned until Ahiru finished, saying, "So, why don't we all believe in our power?" They all nodded, and with determination written on their faces, Mytho's cloud began to ascend higher and higher. Mytho pointed his sword at the heart that was now in sight and Rue placed her hands over the Prince's. The sword began to glow with an eerie black aura and on the hilt, one of the pure white swans changed colors into a magnificent black swan. Then, Fakir began to write.

"The girl, Ahiru, in the form of Princess Tutu, began to dance. She danced just as she had back when she was a duck. She remembered the steps well, the image of that time was engraved in her mind after all. Although it was the same dance, it had the grace of Princess Tutu and the feelings of not only Ahiru the duck, girl and prima donna, but the feelings of the ones around her. Such feelings gave her dance power, it gave her energy and hope. The same overwhelming hope that had spread out from her body on that fateful day was once again rising up from within her."

Ahiru danced with all her might, and just as Fakir wrote it, she felt a familiar warmth rising from within her. It seemed to be starting at her heart, and slowly, the sensation worked its way outwards, and soon, she was engulfed in light. The light was so strong that it lit up the entire inside of the Raven. Even the skeletons down below had stopped their dances to stare in awe of it. As the light spread out towards Fakir, Rue and Mytho, the warmth gave them power as well.

"All right, it's time. We will end this once and for all!" The cloud was now upon the Raven's heart and Mytho raised his sword above his head. He brought it down on the heart and the Raven let out a loud cry of pain as he was once again torn apart. Suddenly, Mytho, Rue, Fakir and Ahiru all found themselves back on the ground and watched as the Raven's body vanished to reveal daylight.

"It's over."

* * *

Author's notes:

Oh gosh! That took a while to finish! Sorry to anyone who was waiting for it! I'm a bit too tired right now to write any other comments but I'll probably finish whatever I want to say in the epilogue. -.- so till then! Enjoy! And sorry if it seems a little half-assed. ^_^;


	15. Epilogue

:D finally! The epilogue! Yaaay! I hope you enjoy, and thanks to everyone who stuck with my long story! ;D Here goes!

I do not own Princess Tutu! Only poor Miss Lorna....R.I.P ;_;

* * *

"It's finally over..." Rue whispered.

"For now at least." Mytho sheathed his sword and let out a heavy sigh. He knew how high the chances were that all this could happen again in the near future.

"Mytho..." Fakir shook his head and began walking back in the direction of his house. "C'mon, for now, why don't we head back to my house."

They all nodded and began to follow him. As they began walking, Ahiru stopped suddenly. She felt faint and she noticed her legs beginning to buckle. Then, before she knew it, everything went black and she felt the cold, hard ground beneath her.

"Ahiru!"

* * *

Suddenly, Ahiru found herself sitting in the dark. She had no idea where she was. "What happened? Where am I?" Then, a bright light flashed before her and faded away to reveal the image of her as Princess Tutu reasoning with Autor back in the Raven's belly.

_ "All right then, but what about you? Your power is simply borrowed once again. Once this story ends, it's highly likely that you'll simply go back to being a duck and live the rest of your life miserably!" _Ahiru quacked at his harsh statement, causing herself to turn back into a duck. After digging her head out of her clothes she sighed. _But he's right, isn't he? Chances are, it'll be just like before. Maybe I'm just destined to always turn back into a duck? _Just as Ahiru was about to sigh again, Princess Tutu spoke up, grabbing her attention._  
_

_"That is not true either. Even if I were to revert back into a duck, I would still be happy. I missed all the things that I took for granted as a human, but as long as Fakir was with me...as long as he was by my side...that's what kept me going. That's what gave me hope." _Ahiru blushed slightly as she remembered what she had said. _That's true too. I was a little sad as a duck, but having Fakir with me always made me happy again...but, even saying that...I...I'm not afraid of turning back into a duck anymore, but for some reason, I think a part of me still doesn't want to go back._

"You don't have to..."

"Quack?" Ahiru looked up to see Princess Tut standing before her. She knelt down and picked Ahiru up into her arms.

"Uh..." Ahiru opened her eyes slowly and sat up. "Huh?" She looked at herself thoroughly before finally concluding, "I'm still a girl!"

"Huh?" Fakir groaned and sat up stiffly in the chair beside Ahiru's bed. "Oh, Ahiru."

"Fakir!" Ahiru beamed. "Look! Look! I'm still a girl!"

Fakir raised an eyebrow at her. "Moron, why wouldn't you be?"

Ahiru frowned and became sober. "Well, you know...the story ended and all, and now that I think about it, I think I was just so happy being a girl again, that I completely forgot to think about stuff like, why Princess Tutu was able to help me become a girl in the first place."

"So you think that you'll end up having to return the pendant to the Prince again...?"

"Yeah....I mean, my role as Princess Tutu in the story is over again...so I have to give back what I borrowed, right?"

"No, you don't." Ahiru gasped and looked down at her pendant. The jewel became little sparks of light that floated into the middle of the room. They all came together and formed and faint image of Princess Tutu. "You won't have to give up anything this time, Ahiru."

"What? But, don't you have to go back to the Prince?" Ahiru realized something and smacked herself in the head. "Ooooh, I'm so selfish! I was so happy being a girl again and busy with all that happened, that I didn't even wonder about the Mytho's emotions! With you gone, doesn't that mean the Prince is missing the feeling of hope?"

Fakir shook his head. "No, that can't be. Ahiru, you should know. We were only able to defeat the Raven because each of us had hope."

"That's right." Princess Tutu agreed.

"But then...how?"

"You see Ahiru, although I am the Prince's feeling of hope, I am also a separate being. Unlike the rest of the Prince's emotions, I am not bound to simply one emotion." Princess Tutu closed her eyes with a smile and put her hand on her heart. "I have many different thoughts and feelings...I have a heart of my own, a mind of my own, a soul of my own. So, although my feelings for the Prince are strong, my feelings for you, Ahiru, are just the same. I could not watch you live your life without even a chance to live out your hopes and dreams, so, I decided that I would split myself in two." Ahiru nearly gasped at this.

"Y-you split yourself...in two!?"Fakir rolled his eyes and nudged Ahiru in the arm.

"Not like that, Moron." Princess Tutu giggled at Ahiru's naivety and continued.

"Yes, not quite like that."

"Then..."

"Ahiru, my heart of hope belongs fully and undeniably to the Prince. But, my soul...my spirit belongs with you."

Finally, Ahiru understood. "Tutu....Thank you." Ahiru began to cry but Princess Tutu only smiled as she returned to her form as Ahiru's pendant. "Thank you so much, Princess Tutu!" Ahiru wiped away her tears and Fakir smiled slightly. After a while though, Fakir got up and stretched his arms.

"Ahiru...are you feeling okay now?"

"Huh?" Ahiru sniffed. "Yeah, I'm okay now. Why?"

"Well, the funeral for those who had their hearts eaten is today."

Ahiru's smile fell. "Oh...so then...we really weren't able to save _everyone_..."

Fakir looked away regretfully. Ahiru sighed. "Well, I'll get ready now. I have to apologize for not being able to help them."

Fakir nodded and headed towards the door. "Ah, wait, Fakir."

"Hm?"

"You said that the funeral was today, right? Isn't it a bit late? I mean, we only defeated the Raven just this afternoon..."

"Actually, you've been sleeping for about an entire day. It's already the next afternoon."

"Qu-!" Ahiru quickly muffled her quack. "So I've been sleeping that long!? ....oh! Don't tell me I missed seeing off Mytho and Rue!"

Fakir rolled his eyes again. "Idiot, they haven't left Kinkan yet. They'll be there at the funeral, don't worry."

"Oh, okay!"

After Ahiru finished getting dressed, the two of them had lunch and headed off towards the graveyard. Once there, they saw a crowd of people surrounding a row of coffins. Ahiru recognized most of them as students and the rest were probably family members.

It seemed that Ahiru and Fakir had managed to join the ceremony just a little before it ended and Ahiru sighed. "Aw, I feel bad now. We couldn't even make it in time to hear the...the..." Ahiru tapped her chin as she looked for the right word.

"The epitaph?" Fakir finished.

"Yeah, that. It was partly our fault so I feel guilty for not being here to listen to the whole thing." Fakir sighed. As everyone else began to disperse, Fakir led Ahiru towards the tombstones nearby.

"If you feel so guilty about it, then send off their spirits with a good message." Fakir knelt down in front of one of the tombstones and closed his eyes. Ahiru guessed that he was praying and knelt down as well. Ahiru looked at the name written on the tombstone in front of her. It read, _Here lies, Alice Lorna, beloved sister, daughter, and teacher. Rest in peace._

_Miss Lorna...you too? _Ahiru could feel tears brimming in her eyes. However, instead of sobbing, she smiled. _I'm really sorry Miss Lorna...we couldn't save you or the others....Um, even though I didn't know you too well or for very long, you were still one of the most caring teachers I've ever had. Whenever you taught, you always tried to help your students, and you really cared for their health, like when you sent Mytho back to his dorm to rest, or when you excused Fakir from class to come take care of me... Thank you so much for all you've done and...goodbye._

Ahiru bowed her head once to her teacher's tombstone and then stood up. She nearly quacked when someone pulled her into a hug.

"Ahiru! You're okay!" Rue gasped.

Ahiru gently pushed away from her friend and smiled. Beside Rue was Mytho. "Mytho! Rue!"

"We're sorry Ahiru. We wanted to stay with you until you woke up, but Fakir told us to go back to the dorms and get some rest. He said that he would take care of you so we left."

"Yes." Rue agreed. "While we were at Fakir's house, he stayed right by your bedside the entire time! So, we knew that you would be in good hands. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have left." Ahiru blushed. _Fakir..._

"Oh, you two." Fakir joined their circle. "So, now that everything's cleared up, what are you going to do?"

"Oh, Fakir. Well, I think that Rue and I will return to my kingdom again. I need to get back to my work before things get too out of hand in my absence."

"Also, we'll have to get started on searching for a way to get rid of Mytho's raven's blood." Rue said soberly.

"We'll help on our end too!"

Fakir nodded. "Yes, if we learn anything, we'll contact you as soon as we can."

Mytho and Rue smiled gratefully at the two. "Thank you both so much. We'll be leaving later this evening so we have to go make sure all of our things are in order." Mytho and Rue gave their friends warm goodbye hugs and set off towards their dorms again, leaving Ahiru and Fakir behind.

"Come on, time for us to go home too." Fakir began walking and Ahiru trailed after him.

"Hey Fakir?"

"Hm?"

"How long do you think things will stay like this?"

"Who knows. That's why we have to work really hard to find a way to remove the Prince of the raven's blood."

"Oh...I see." Fakir glanced down at Ahiru who now wore a frown on her face. He sighed.

"But, in saying that, we should make the most of whatever peace time we have." Ahiru perked up and smiled.

"...Thank you, Fakir."

"What?"

"Um, well, for always being there to help me. You always cheered me up when I was sad and saved me when it counted. I wouldn't have made it if it weren't for you." Fakir blushed but kept his eyes forward.

"Well I wouldn't have to do any of that if you weren't so klutzy and troublesome all the time."

"Excuse me!" Ahiru puffed up with anger and began lecturing Fakir about ruining the moment. And thus, they lived ever after, the ending to this story, becoming the beginning of a new one full of love.

The end

* * *

^_^; woo! I'm done! ...and about that last bit *coughcough* *hinthint* yeah I couldn't help myself. I just had to add in a little Fakir/Ahiru sign somewhere. And the ending seems a little out of place...oh well. ^_^ Thanks to everyone who read it and commented! I love you all!...no homo!


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